Gluten Free | I Can Cook That

Fontina-Stuffed, Bacon-Wrapped Dates

I honestly have no idea why some fresh dates caught my eye while I was shopping recently. Somehow, they ended up in my basket along with my usual ingredients: lemons, garlic, onions and peppers. I opened my fridge yesterday and realized my poor little dates were still sitting in there, so I decided today was the day to use them for a delicious appetizer I found on Brown Eyed Baker‘s site.

Ingredients:

An equal number of fresh dates, Fontina cheese, cut to fit inside the dates, and 4 inch pieces of Bacon

I made 6, using about 2 pieces of bacon

Preheat your broiler. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut the dates half open, making sure not to cut the date fully in half.

Wedge a piece of cheese within each date.

Wrap the bacon around the date, overlapping the ends and placing them on the bottom to keep closed.

Broil for about 5 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them, broilers go from toasted to scorched in a matter of seconds.

That’s it! How easy. Not to mention, super tasty. The mix of salty bacon, sweet dates, and earthy cheese gives an almost buttery flavor to this appetizer. If serving this at a party, I’d suggest adding toothpicks so that guests can eat them a bit easier.

Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

There was a restaurant near my college that served Sauteed Salmon with a Blackberry Butter Sauce and Red Bliss Potatoes. I loved this dish so much, I’m pretty sure I went once a week to eat it while they offered this dinner.

I had a bunch of raspberries and blackberries left over from the Berry Sangria and Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup, so I thought I’d attempt to recreate the recipe, adapting it into this Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes.

Ingredients for Salmon

2 eight ounce salmon fillets, with the skin still on
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Ingredients for Blackberry-Raspberry Butter Sauce

1/4 cup raspberries
1/4 cup blackberries
Juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon sugar
1/3 cup white wine
1 garlic clove, minced
1 shallot, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into chunks

Ingredients for Roasted Red Bliss Potatoes

2 cups Red Bliss potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
Salt and Pepper, to taste
Cooking Spray

Continue reading Sauteed Salmon with Berry Butter Sauce and Roasted Potatoes

Berry Sangria

I have a bunch of fruit left over from my Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup. It’s a lovely warm weekend in Philadelphia which immediately made me think of sangria. What a perfect way to use more of these berries!

Ingredients:

A bowl full of mixed berries (strawberries, hulled, blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, cherries)
1 1/2 cups of triple sec
1 1/2 cups cranberry juice (I used cran-raspberry juice)
1/2 cup simple syrup (left over from my Mojitos)
1 bottle of white wine
1-2 cups ginger ale or club soda, to taste
Ice cubes
Mint, optional

Continue reading Berry Sangria

Slow Braised Collard Greens

In the south, collard greens are traditionally made with smoked or salted meats, primarily ham hocks. I looked for a substitute for ham hocks (they kind of freak me out, not going to lie), and found a recipe for Slow Braised Collard Greens that used bacon instead.

Ingredients:
3 slices of applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used about 1/3 of an onion)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, more for additional heat
1/4 teaspoon salt
6-10 leaves of collard greens, torn with the tough stem removed
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup white wine
1 1/2 tablespoons white vinegar (I used rice vinegar)

Begin by cooking your bacon in a Dutch oven over medium heat.

Cook until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes.

Remove from the pan and allow to cool. While waiting for the bacon to cool, prepare your onion and collard greens. Crumble the bacon once cooled.

Add the onion to the bacon drippings in the Dutch oven.

Cook for two minutes, stirring so that it evenly cooks. Add the pepper, salt, and greens and cook for another two minutes, or until the greens begin to wilt.

Stir in the crumbled bacon, broth, water, wine, and vinegar.

Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 hours or until greens are tender.

I added a 1/2 teaspoon of crushed red pepper instead of a 1/4 teaspoon and found it to be a bit too hot for my liking. However, if you like things spicy, by all means use a 1/2 teaspoon. This side dish has a ton of flavor. An hour is a really long time to cook, but it really lets the flavors meld together. Yum!

Salad with Roasted Shallot Vinaigrette

My poor leafy greens from this week’s CSA are beginning to wilt on me. I wanted to use them before they were no longer salvageable, so another salad! I’m stunned with how many different vinaigrette recipes exist out there. This one has a slight twist to it, using a roasted shallot instead of a raw one. The original recipe can be found here, another recipe from my trusty Cooking Light.

Ingredients:
1 medium shallot, peeled
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
A few leaves of Romaine and red leafy lettuce, washed and torn (enough for 3 plates)
1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved (optional)
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (optional)

To make the vinaigrette, first preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the shallot in tin foil and cook at 400 degrees for 35 minutes.

This smells so good when it’s cooking

Cool for 10 minutes and mince.

While the shallot is cooking and cooling, prepare your lettuce. Wash and tear the lettuce and allow to dry in a colander. Halve your tomatoes. Add the lettuce, tomatoes and feta cheese to a large bowl. You can throw in whatever you happen to have around: peppers, artichoke hearts.. whatever makes you happy.

Combine the minced shallot and all ingredients up to pepper in a bowl, whisking to combine. (I just added them all to a jar, closed the jar tightly, and shook to combine.)

Add to salad and toss well to coat.

This is a great vinaigrette for those that find normal vinaigrettes too acidic. The roasted shallot (and the teaspoon sugar) add some sweetness to the dressing which cuts some of the acidity in the vinegar, without making it overly sweet.

Berries with Lemon Mint Syrup

I came across this recipe while researching different ways to incorporate mint into my meals. This dish sounds like the perfect summer dessert, so I thought I’d give this one a try.

Ingredients (this made 3 servings):
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup mint leaves, or 1/3 cup dried mint
Zest from 1 lemon
A bowl full of mixed berries, such as blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and quartered strawberries

Prepare your mint (if using fresh mint) by removing the leaves from the stem. I used a cup of loosely packed mint leaves and had plenty of mint flavor in my syrup.

Add the water, sugar, lemon zest, and mint to a pan over medium-high heat.

Bring to a boil.

Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 20 minutes. While waiting, prepare your fruit. Wash all fruit in a colander and cut the strawberries into quarters.

After 20 minutes, remove all leaves and lemon zest from the syrup using a slotted spoon or a strainer.

Add the syrup back to the pan and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat and add the berries.

Stir. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool before serving.

So it goes without saying that berries on their own are delicious. But when you add a syrup that is infused with lemon zest and mint, berries become the absolute perfect warm weather dessert. I can’t even describe how tasty this was!

Strawberry-Mint Mojitos

There are few things more refreshing on a hot summer day than a mojito. My CSA share came with mint this week as well, so mojitos sounded like a perfect drink for this little heat wave we are experiencing in Philadelphia. I didn’t want to just make a classic mojito so I was happy that the CSA share came with strawberries as well.

Ingredients (per serving):
1 teaspoon simple syrup
2 fresh strawberries, halved
Mint leaves from 1-2 sprigs
Sparkling water (club soda)
1/2 lime
2 ounces light rum
Ice

To make simple syrup, combine 1 cup sugar with 1 cup water in a saute pan. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Cool.

Prepare your strawberries. Remove the stem from the strawberries and cut in half.

Add the juice from 1/2 a lime, two strawberries (4 halves), 1 teaspoon simple syrup, and the mint leaves to a glass.

Using a muddler or the back of a spoon, muddle the ingredients together. Muddling is crushing ingredients to allow the flavors and oils to be released and combine.

Add two ounces rum and ice, and shake to combine. Fill with sparkling water.

This is so refreshing. I made mine with very little simple syrup; I prefer my mojito to be more minty than sweet. Feel free to adapt the amount of each ingredient to your tastes. This recipe can also be changed to use watermelon, raspberries, or whatever else sounds good to you.

Sauteed Collard Greens

This week, I received collard greens as part of my CSA. Although traditionally made with smoked meats and such, I wanted to ease my way into this new veggie. (I’ll try a somewhat more traditional version later this week)

Ingredients:
1 bunch of collard greens, stems removed and roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 spring garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon, optional

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a teaspoon of salt. Prepare your collard greens while waiting for the water to boil.

remove large stem in center of leaf

roughly chop

When the water is boiling, add the collard greens and cook for ten minutes.

when initially added

ten minutes in

Drain the collard greens in a colander and rinse under cold water. Squeeze against the colander to remove excess water.

Chop the spring garlic.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

Add the collard greens and season with salt and pepper.

Cook until wilted, about three to four minutes.

Collard greens have a slight bitterness to them that works well with the subtle garlic taste of spring garlic (versus normal garlic). I added a squeeze of lemon which helped brighten the dish a bit. It’s a nice alternative to spinach, my default leafy green. As with most darker green vegetables, collard greens are high in Vitamins A, C, and K and are high in fiber, so the more leafy greens in my diet, the better.

Cornmeal-Crusted Scallops with Mint Chimichurri

I’m still working through my mint and came across this recipe on My Recipes. Chimichurri is normally made with parsley and oregano and is used as a marinade on meat. However, this recipe incorporates mint, making the chimichurri seafood-friendly.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves
1/3 cup sliced green onions (scallions)
1 tablespoon water
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon minced seeded serrano chili
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon green (spring) garlic
3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
4 dry scallops
1 tablespoon olive oil

Continue reading Cornmeal-Crusted Scallops with Mint Chimichurri

Salmon with Lemon-Mint Dressing

I was so excited to receive mint in my CSA this week. That emotion was quickly replaced by panic, what the heck can I make to actually use up all of this mint? I do have a dessert or two in the mix, but I wanted to include it in some dinners that were a little more rare than lamb with a mint sauce. Naturally, my love of salmon made choosing this recipe a no brainer.

Ingredients:

Lemon zest from one lemon
Fresh lemon juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon plus 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon finely minced shallot (about one shallot)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 (6-ounce) salmon fillets

Continue reading Salmon with Lemon-Mint Dressing

Chocolate Mint Pudding

Chocolate Mint Pudding. Need I say more? This recipe is actually really easy, and it tastes amazing. I made a few changes to the original recipe depending on what I had on hand.

Ingredients:

3 cups fat-free milk
1/2 cup packed fresh mint leaves
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Continue reading Chocolate Mint Pudding

Spinach with Pine Nuts and Golden Raisins

I am still on a Wilted Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette kick, but my CSA gave me a bag of spinach about the size of my torso, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to branch out and try other spinach side recipes. I had all of these ingredients on hand, so this recipe from Cooking Light (August 2006) seemed like a good choice.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup boiling water
1/3 cup golden raisins
4 cups spinach
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted

First place golden raisins in a bowl. Add 1/2 cup boiling water and let stand for 15 minutes or until raisins expand. Drain and set aside.

Place the pine nuts in a saute pan over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently to keep them from burning. When fragrant and browned, remove from heat.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water.

Cook for 3 minutes or until the spinach wilts.

Remove from pot and wipe the pot dry. Add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pan and add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring frequently. Add the spinach and raisins. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for 1 minute or until heated. Stir in pine nuts and serve.

I would have never thought to put something sweet like raisins with spinach, but they really worked well together. The pine nuts added a bit of crunch, as well as some flavor from toasting the pine nuts. Although I’m not willing to shelve my go-to spinach recipe, this one will definitely be added to my recipe arsenal!

Summer Garden Salad

When I usually make salads, I tend to just throw in there whatever I happen to have in my fridge. I received romaine lettuce and radishes as part of my CSA this week, so I thought it was time to explore new salad recipes. I found one on myrecipes.com, originally from the May 2008 Cooking Light magazine. This one caught my eye immediately; look at those colors!

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons honey

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 cups shredded romaine lettuce

1 container grape tomatoes, halved

1 sliced peeled cucumber

1 chopped orange bell pepper

2-3 larger, thinly sliced radishes

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1 avocado, mashed

Combine the first five ingredients (lime juice through black pepper) in a bowl. Gradually add the oil, mixing with a whisk.

Prepare all your veggies.

Combine the lettuce and the next 6 ingredients (all but the avocado) in a large bowl. Drizzle dressing over the mixture and toss to coat. Top with avocado.

I somewhat unjustifiably feel like I’m eating healthier when there are a bunch of colors in my food, so this dish made me super happy. The key to this salad is to use the freshest ingredients possible. The dressing was very flavorful and the Dijon mustard gave a good amount of acidity to the salad so no vinegar is really needed in the dressing. The original recipe called for chopped avocado, but I failed miserably in my attempt so I mashed it up to save it. Feel free to use chopped avocado instead; it probably looks more aesthetically pleasing. The recipe also called for yellow pear tomatoes, but I wanted a pop of red in the dish so I substituted in grape tomatoes.

Parsley Hummus with Toasted Pine Nuts & Pita

Hummus is really easy to make and can be customized to whatever suits your tastes. I am still working through my parsley, so I decided to try a parsley hummus on Epicurious with a few adjustments.

Ingredients:
1 bunch of parsley leaves
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed
the juice and zest of 1 lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons tahini
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
1 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
pita bread
cooking spray
salt, to taste

Preheat the over to 450 degrees. Cut the pita into triangles and arrange on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray.

Cook for 4-5 minutes and set aside. Place the chickpeas in a colander and rinse with water.

Roughly chop the garlic.

Put the parsley and the garlic in a food processor and process until thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute.

Add the chickpeas and process for another minute.

Add in the lemon juice, lemon zest, tahini, olive oil, cumin, cayenne pepper, and salt (to taste). Process until smooth.

Place the pine nuts in a saute pan over medium heat. Shake the pan frequently to keep them from burning. When fragrant and browned, remove from heat.

Take 3/4 of the pine nuts and finely chop.

Add the chopped pine nuts to the hummus and mix in with a spoon. Top the hummus with the remaining whole pine nuts.

The spices add great flavor but there isn’t enough in it to give heat. The pine nuts give the hummus some crunch. And for some reason, it makes me super happy that this hummus is such a pretty green color. If you’re not in the mood for toasted pita, tomatoes or sliced cucumber would be quite tasty with this.

Seared Scallops with Garlic-Parsley Butter

I found a recipe on My Recipes for Seared Scallops with Garlic-Parsley Butter. It even includes my other favorite ingredient: mushrooms. And, even better, the recipe is served over a mashed potato puree! I think they might have written this recipe just for me.

Ingredients:
6 oz of larger sized scallops
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons minced spring garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 package shiitake mushrooms, rinsed, stemmed, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons canned crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons dry white wine
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Ingredients for Yukon Gold potato puree:
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons whipping cream
Salt and Pepper

Bring 2 to 3 quarts water to a boil. Peel the potatoes and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Add potatoes to the pot and cook until tender when pierced, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and put in a bowl.

Mash the potatoes with 1/4 cup chicken broth, 2 tablespoons whipping cream, salt and pepper to taste. I just used a fork, but a potato masher would have really sped up the process. Set aside.

Rinse the scallops and pat dry.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Prepare your mushrooms. Remove the stems and discard. Thinly slice the caps.

Mince the shallot and green garlic. Green garlic is also known as spring garlic. It happened to be part of my CSA share, so if you just have normal garlic, that will work just fine.

Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. Add scallops to the pan and cook, flipping the scallops once until browned on both sides and opaque, about 4 minutes total.

Transfer the scallops to a plate and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add 1/2 tablespoon butter, garlic, and shallot to the saute pan.

When the butter is melted, add the mushrooms.

Stir often until mushrooms are browned, about 5 minutes.

Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter, chicken broth, parsley, tomatoes, white wine, and lemon juice.

Bring to a boil and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the potato puree to a bowl. Top with the scallops and spoon mushrooms and sauce over the scallops.

Oh this was so so good. I don’t know how this recipe managed to get so many of my favorite ingredients into one dish and still make it taste good, but I don’t think I’ve ever been happier on a Monday night. Yum.