Aunt Bee's Baked Artisan Goat Cheese

During the San Francisco trip, Raw and I headed down to the wharf. We had coupons for free appetizers at the Bistro Boudin, so we decided to lunch there.

We chose the Baked Artisan Goat Cheese for our free appetizer. When the server brought the dish, we almost laughed at the four tiny slivers of bread. Didn't he know how hungry we were?

Fortunately, the second dish he laid before us was a generous portion of a tasty warm tomato-ey sauce with a slice of goat cheese nestled in the middle. The goat cheese was nicely broiled and topped with a drizzle of pesto.

Raw and I were so delighted that we decided to try to recreate the magic at the dinner we all cooked on our last night there.

It turned out pretty delicious so when Jacque, Jill and I had a "Tapas Night" today, I made it again. Still delicious!

I like to kind of cheat when it comes to recipes. Totally homemade just takes too long! So this is how I mimic Bistro Boudin's tasty treat:

Aunt Bee's Baked Artisan Goat Cheese

One small hunk of goat cheese--The little packages all rolled in herbs works great!
One jar of tomato bruschetta in a variety of your choice

Dump the jar of bruschetta in a pie plate. Slice up the goat cheese and place the pieces evenly over the bruschetta.

Stick the pie plate in the oven and broil until the goat cheese is bubbly and nicely browned.

I serve this with sourdough, but any good bread would taste great.

And now that I think about it, this would probably be really good if you heated the bruschetta for awhile before putting the goat cheese on top. I'll try that next time and let you know how it works!

Reba's

Reba's is awesome!

It really does seem a bit out of place when compared to the other restaurants I've been to in Newton. But doesn't every town need a semi-fancy place to hang out?

I've enjoyed all the food I've had at Reba's. I think the spinach salad with the citrus vinaigrette is awesome! I like my dressings to have some pow! so I guess I could understand why others might enjoy a more subtle taste.

We always enjoy the hummus. The secret is that it's not actually chick peas. I'll leave the rest of the secret to the chef.

The music is always good. Where else do you get to listen to Beck and Elliott Smith and maybe even some Cake if you're lucky?

Honestly, though, we rarely make it in time for dinner. We usually go to hang out with Joel and Nick. They're great bartenders. They have some creative drinks up their sleeves, but are quite comfortable with the standards. They're very friendly and might even come hang out with you after close!

Reba's is definitely worth the trip to Newton!

Chicken en Papillote

I found a recipe for this in Real Simple a long time ago. Michael and I decided to try it out once when he was visiting. Since he's vegetarian, we used Morningstar Chick'n Strips. I don't remember a lot about the recipe other than you cook it at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes. It's really all about eyeballing and throwing in a bunch of stuff. This is the combination we had. It turned out colorful and delicious!

Chicken en Papillote

Parchment Paper
Chicken Breasts (optional)
One can butter beans
Cherry tomatoes, halved
Carrots, julienned
Baby spinach
Yellow squash, sliced
Green onions, chopped
Olive oil, to drizzle
Lots of garlic
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut parchment paper to size you wish to serve. Leave plenty of room to fold paper to seal. We used two pieces for each packet, like a sandwich, then folded the edges. I've also done it where I folded over one large piece.

Stir all ingredients, except the chicken, together until evenly dispersed. Drizzle in olive oil and add salt and pepper.

Spoon vegetables onto one layer of parchment paper. Place chicken on top. Seal by folding in edges.

Place sealed packets onto baking sheet and cook 30 to 40 minutes.

To serve, either place packets on plate, or open packet and dump onto plate. We opened them and ate with rice.

Banana Bread

This banana bread was much better than the healthy recipe. But to tell you the truth, I don't know what makes that recipe more healthy than this one. The original recipe called for all-purpose flour but I used King Arthur's White Whole Wheat Flour.

2 cups King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed, overripe bananas

Prehat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Stir in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended. Stir banana mixture into flour mixture; stir just to moisten. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 60 to 65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack.

Apple Crisp

I have a bit of an obsession with anything that ends with "crisp."

Apple crisp, peach crisp, sweet potato crisp; I want it. This is my favorite crisp recipe. I've adapted it from a bunch of different recipes.

I like to use wheat flour and have a few other secret ingredients that I don't really want to divulge here. I think the wheat makes it a bit heavier, though.

Jacque made an apple crisp awhile back that tasted quite different and lighter. If you like it better that way, use regular ol' flour instead of wheat.

Apple Crisp

6 cups sliced Granny Smith apples* (approximately 6 apples)
1 1/4 cups brown sugar
3/4 cup wheat flour
3/4 cups quick oats
1/2 cup butter
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9x11 baking dish.

Place the sliced apples in the bottom of the baking dish and spread out evenly.

Combine all the remaining ingredients together in another bowl and mix until well blended. The mixture should have a crumbly texture.

Sprinkle mixture over the apples. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.

*Really, you can use any fruit. Or vegetable. Or I guess you could try some kind of meat. Just kind of eyeball it. One of my favorites is Cranberry Apple.

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

I made this back in November while on a sweet potato kick.

I had a basic recipe from Martha Stewart's magazine, Everyday Food. I really just used it as a guide and added in some other secret ingredients, which I won't reveal.

Okay, I'll reveal one secret. I added apples to the mix!

I made it pretty spicy and it was delicious over couscous!

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 medium onion, diced
* 1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
* 1 cinnamon stick
* 1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
* 2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
* Pinch of saffron (optional)
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 cup couscous
* Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

1. Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

2. Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken to pot. Add broth, sweet potatoes, and, if using, saffron. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.

3. While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Serve chicken stew with couscous, garnished with cilantro, if desired.