Easy Spinach Artichoke Dip

I made this dip for Hazel's 5th birthday party. And I made it with a three week old in a wrap on my chest, so you know I'm telling the truth when I say it's really easy to make.

Adapted from Sugar Dish Me 

(http://www.sugardishme.com/best-no-bake-spinach-dip/#621MfJQDW39lUwVQ.99)

Serves: 8 

(according to the original recipe; I doubled and served at a party for 50)

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4.5 ounces fresh spinach, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 can artichoke hearts
• pinch of salt
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• ¼ cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

1. Finely chop the spinach (I did this in the food processor).
2. Heat the olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes.
3. When the spinach has cooked down, add the garlic. Stir and cook until translucent and fragrant. 
4. While the spinach and garlic are cooking, finely chop the artichokes (again, I did this in the food processor). 
5. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir with the remaining ingredients until smooth.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

I made this for Mrs. Jessica Silber Smith's baby shower today and promised to post the recipe. It is a delicious chocolate cake recipe (and gluten free!) that I reach for over and over again. There are only 4 ingredients. They are real ingredients and there's no funny substitutes to make it gluten free.

I regularly make this cake without the creme fraiche and raspberries (like today), but if you want an extra special presentation, the topping is super delicious too. The cake stores well for a couple of days at room temperature, but the topping should be added just before serving.

modified only very slightly from
The Art & Soul of Baking
by Cindy Mushet

serves 8 to 10 (at least)

Cake
10 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I use chocolate chips)
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
5 eggs
1/2 cup sugar

Topping
8 ounces creme fraiche (I use sour cream)
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon framboise or Chambord (optional, and I don't think I have ever included this)
1 pint raspberries

Chicken Fricassee with Morels and Thyme

Its morel mushroom season again! Hip hip hooray!! I was looking for new recipes for our haul of mushrooms this year and came up with this good one. 

Of course, we still made several of Morel Asparagus and Goat Cheese Tarts because that tart is probably the best recipe ever for these mushrooms, but we were pleasantly surprised with this Fricassee. And I'll keep this in my back pocket for future morel seasons to come!


Another great option for morels is the Springtime Quiche, but we seemed to skip this quiche this spring. Maybe we'll come back to it next year. The Springtime Quiche is a good option when you have only a few morels to cook with, as it only uses 6 or 8 mushrooms. 

Fresh morels!

Serves 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/chicken-fricassee-with-morel-mushrooms-and-thyme.html


Ingredients:
3/4 lb. fresh morel mushrooms, each halved lengthwise
1 chicken, about 3 1/2 lb.
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. sunflower oil
4 Tbs. butter
1/2 red onion, minced
1 1/2 Tbs. all-purpose flour
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 fresh thyme sprigs (dried works fine too)
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1 Tbs. minced fresh chives

Beet Caprese Salad

Every spring I start to crave Caprese Salad, but the tomatoes never ripen soon enough to satisfy this springtime craving. This year I found some gorgeous beets at the farmers market AND this awesome recipe for a Beet Caprese. It was simple, but delicious! And we had mint in the herb garden too! So we used mint instead of basil. Lets call it Caprese inspired....barely...but still delicious!

Roasted Beet Salad alla Caprese
Servings: about 4
adapted from: The Curvy Carrot

Rob and Hazel tasting my yummy salad!

Ingredients

For the beets:
4 medium beets, scrubbed, trimmed, and dried
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the dressing:
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Zest of one grapefruit
2 tablespoons grapefruit juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:
2 balls (4 to 6 ounces each) buffalo mozzarella
Sea salt, to taste
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, sliced thinly

Note: the original recipe called for basil, which I think would be delicious, but we didn't have any basil in the garden yet and the mint leaves have just started growing again, so we used mint instead.

Curry Base (for Tikka Masala or other curry dishes)

Curry Base

Makes 12 cups which is enough for 4 batches of Tikka Masala.
from: http://myfancypantry.com/

The Spice Mix:
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon  coriander (seeds)
1 tablespoon paprika
1 small 1″ piece of cinnamon
3 cloves
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
2 green Cardamom pods- crushed
1 large bayleaf
Mix all spices together in a bowl. Set your masala mix aside.

Ingredients:
10 onions, sliced thin
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 red bell pepper, sliced
12 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
2 cups chopped tomatoes
2 1/2 cups water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. ghee
salt/pepper to taste