Date Night Meal: Chicken Stuffed with Prosciutto, Bleu Cheese, and Figs

Whenever I start seeing someone, my blog inevitably comes up in conversation. Everyone always says "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach" and I have found that to be true more often than not. Even if things don't end up working out, guys (especially guys who can't cook for themselves) usually find it very intriguing that I can cook. When it came time to show my skills, we were struck with a heat wave that made me want to do the bare minimum of cooking (hence my Curry Chicken Salad Recipe), but since the weather has cooled off, I wanted to show my skills. When it came time to figure out what to make, I realized most of the recipes I usually cook are quick and easy meals, nothing too impressive, so I turned to my friend Benny for help.

Curry Chicken Salad

As much as I would love to deny it, I am definitely one of those New Englanders who complains about the cold in the winter, and then complains about the heat in the summer. It's just been so hot for so long this summer! And the humidity, ugh, don't even get me started. I've never owned an air conditioner in my life but I caved and bought one this past weekend. The heat officially won this year. Don't get me wrong, I love summer, but it definitely makes me not want to be in a kitchen or turn on the oven or stove, that's for sure. Here's a recipe that my mom relied on heavily growing up for just this type of weather: curry chicken salad.

Holy Moly Guacamole!

When summer comes all I want to do is eat fresh produce. My body craves vine ripened tomatoes and lush avocados. I also love having the margaritas that usually go with making guacamole. In college, my friends and I used to go to an amazing restaurant in Northampton, MA called Mama Iguana's. They have strong margaritas and table-side guacamole. I remember watching the ingredients and the process very carefully one time. I was determined to make guacamole that was just as good without having to drive to Northampton to get it.

Mmmm Steak

I love steak. Who doesn't, right? Unfortunately, I'm famous for buying different cuts of steak because they're on sale and then way over-cooking them. I'm also abysmal with a grill. I was determined to make this time different, so I turned to Google for help. I Googled
"how to cook petite sirloin steak" and what came up? Alton Brown's ridiculously easy and genius solution for broiling steak. The recipe was great, but if your steak is closer to 1 inch thick, I would shave 1 minute off of the close-up broil time.

And what goes better with steaks and hot weather? A beer! I was first introduced to Slumbrew at a beer tasting I attended last summer, but now that I live closer to their Somerville home, I can luckily find this beer on tap pretty often. It's a light beer will delicious citrus and floral notes. It's absolutely delicious!

Sorry to make this such a short post. I got home from Las Vegas yesterday and am off to the Cape tomorrow until Friday. Las Vegas was awesome and I posted pictures of the delicious food I got to eat on my Instagram. One of the highlights was a happy accident. I went to Bouchon Bistro for breakfast one morning because I could see it from my room and there was an outdoor eating area that looked gorgeous. When I arrived I saw a cookbook that I own in the lobby area. The restaurant was Tom Keller's! I was thrilled and I was not disappointed in the least. I could have eaten at that restaurant every day for the rest of my life. I'm talking homemade corned beef hash and brioche toast. I'm talking sourdough waffles with strawberries and candied pecans with Tahitian vanilla butter. Mmmmhmmm it was to die for. 

The weather is hot and humid, and I'm going to attempt to make a watermelon margarita to help cool off and cheer on the Bruins tonight! Hopefully I'll have a recipe to report soon!

Key Lime Pie and Lime in the Coconut Margaritas

It's no secret by this point that I love just about anything citrus-y. Key Lime Pie is one of my favorite desserts, so when I saw a lighter version in my Cooking Light magazine last week I knew it would only be a matter of time before I tried it out. It was meant to be.

Cheap and Fast: Red Beans and Rice

This is an extra special post. Wanna know why? 2 reasons:

1. This is one of my favorite pantry meals to make.
2. I cooked this meal while wearing heels, so it's extra fancy.

It's been one of those paycheck cycles where certain...surprises came up. For instance, my car insurance jumped an extra $50/month without them telling me because of an accident I was in back in December (12/12/12 to be exact). Liberty Mutual apparently doesn't increase rates mid-contract cycle. Would have been nice to know! I also had to buy some new shoes for my trip to Vegas next week for work, so naturally I had to break them in--hence the cooking in heels bit. In general though, this meal is about anything but fancy.

Lemony Summer Quinoa Pilaf and Ricotta Tart

I love lemon. I worked for a year or so on a Perfect Lemon Square recipe because the other recipes I tried weren't lemon-y enough. I frequently make mini cheesecakes with pure lemon curd on top. And I love roasting asparagus with lemon and garlic. The smell, the taste, the vibrant yellow color. Everything about lemons just make me happy. ANYWHO, I've been working on modifying two recipes that were fine on their own but weren't quite right for me.