Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup & Spinach Salad

While I'm waiting for a recipe from Meagan, I'll post our dinner & convos from this past week at my house. I've said it before and I'll say it again...hosting these girls is so much fun! I can't say that I don't stress about making dinner for 8+ people (not to mention for my husband and 2 1/2 year old little boy), but I am happy to say we have finally implemented a new system. The one to host dinner the week before is to bring dessert for the current week. Whew...one thing off my list...until next week :)


While I was putting the finishing touches on dinner I served a Baked Brie with candied walnuts, caramelized onions & apricot preserves. Sliced red grapes and sea salted water crackers along side. Sound familiar? If you have ever been to Purple Cafe & Wine Bar in Seattle, Bellevue, Kirkland or Woodinville (www.thepurplecafe.com) maybe you were lucky enough to have tried this delicious treat. I was so excited when I found this wonderful blog with the actual recipe (http://northwestnoshings.com/2008/07/07/oozing-with-cheesy-goodness/), which was donated by Purple to an amazing cookbook called Pacific Northwest Wining and Dining: The People, Places, Food, and Drink of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia (by Braiden Rex-Johnson), which can be found on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Pacific-Northwest-Wining-Dining-Washington/dp/0471746851/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334173258&sr=8-1


Here is the Brie recipe... (note, I wasn't in love with the walnuts so I used a recipe I found on allrecipes.com which is below)

Baked Brie with Candied Walnuts and Caramelized Onions
serves 2 to 4 as an appetizer

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 small white or yellow onion, very thinly sliced
pinch kosher salt
4 sheets phyllo dough
6 tablespoons clarified butter, melted
one 4-to-8 ounce wheel of ripe Brie cheese
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons apricot jam, or orange marmalade(note: stir or whisk jam/marmalade until is loosens enough to spread)
3 to 4 tablespoons Candied Walnuts (recipe follows)
Fresh fruit of your choice, such as red grapes, apple slices, or pear slices
Baguette slices or crackers

-Preheat the oven to 450F.
-Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the onion and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender and golden., 25 to 30 minutes; adjust the heat if necessary so the onions don’t brown too quickly or burn. Set aside.
-While the onions are cooking, arrange the oven rack in the center of the oven. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Lay the phyllo dough on a clean, damp kitchen towel on a dry work surface and cover with another damp kitchen towel. Lay a sheet of dough on the baking sheet. Brush the dough lightly with melted butter. Place a second piece of dough across the first piece of dough to form a cross shape and brush lightly with butter. Place a third piece of dough diagonally over the cross and brush lightly with butter. Place the fourth piece of dough diagonally over the third piece of dough(to form a “x” shape) and brush lightly with butter.
-Cut the Brie horizontally through the middle to form a top and bottom layer.
-Place the bottom layer of brie in the center of the phyllo dough.
-Brush with the apricot glaze, and arrange 2 to 3 tablespoons of the onions and the Candied Walnuts evenly over the glaze. Cover with the top layer of brie.
 -Form a beggar’s purse by gathering all eight ends of the phyllo dough, bringing them together over the top of the brie, and pinching them together until the brie is totally encased in dough. Brush lightly with butter, place the phyllo package in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour before proceeding to the next step.
-Cover loosely with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 8 minutes.
-Remove the foil and continue baking for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the phyllo turns golden in color.
-Remove from the oven and transfer to a serving plate. Arrange the fresh fruit and crackers around the brie and serve immediately.

Dawn's Candied Walnuts

Ingredients

• 1 pound walnut halves
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I omitted because it didn't seem relevant to the brie dish)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spread nuts in a single layer over a baking sheet. Roast for approximately 8 to 10 minutes, or until the nuts start to turn brown and the smell of roasting nuts fills the kitchen.
2. Stir together sugar, cinnamon, salt, and milk in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat for 8 minutes, or until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage of 236 degrees F (113 degrees C). Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla immediately. .
3. Add walnuts to sugar syrup, and stir to coat well. Spoon nuts onto waxed paper, and immediately separate nuts with a fork. Cool, and store in airtight containers.

Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (originally found at http://utah.todaysmama.com/)

                                                      Photo by Clair Buys/BYU Magazine

Makes about 2 quarts (about 8 servings)

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
1 cup finely diced celery
1 cup finely diced carrots
1 cup finely diced onions
1 tsp dried oregano or 1 T fresh oregano
1 T dried basil or 1/4 cup fresh basil
4 cups chicken broth
½ bay leaf
½ cup flour
1 cup Parmesan cheese
½ cup butter
2 cups half and half, warmed (or skim milk if you’re trying to cut some calories)
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper

1.  Add tomatoes, celery, carrots, chicken broth, onions, oregano, basil, and bay leaf to a large slow cooker.
2.  Cover and cook on LOW for 5-7 hours, until flavors are blended and vegetables are soft.
3.  About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux. Melt butter over low heat in a skillet and add flour. Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes. Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup. Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth. Add all back into the slow cooker. Stir and add the Parmesan cheese, warmed half and half, salt and pepper.  Add additional basil and oregano if needed (the slow cooker does a number on spices and they get bland over time, so don’t be afraid to always season to taste at the end).
4.  Cover and cook on LOW for another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.


Cranberry-Avocado Salad with Candied Spiced Almonds and Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Courtesy of: http://thecafesucrefarine.blogspot.com/

I keep this dressing on hand at all times now. I've used it over a Chicken, Black Bean & Quinoa dish I threw together as well as a basic green salad. It's super versatile.

Ingredients for the dressing:

⅓ cup sugar
1 ½ tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ tablespoons sesame seeds
½ teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons dried mustard
1 tablespoon minced sweet onion
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup white balsamic vinegar
⅓ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

Ingredients for the salad:

6 dinner size salads, 8 side salads

12 ounces baby spinach, arugula and/or field greens

1 small bunch cilantro, washed and dried, leaves removed whole from stems
2 medium avocados, peeled and halved
¾ cup dried cranberries
¾ cup Candied Spiced Almonds (recipe to follow)

Directions:
1. For the dressing, combine all ingredients in a pint sized glass jar and shake well to dissolve sugar.

2. For the salad, place greens and cilantro leaves in a large bowl. Add avocado and dried cranberries and about 1/4 cup of the dressing and toss gently. Scatter candied almonds over salad and sprinkle lightly with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pass extra dressing at the table.

Candied Spiced Almonds

Ingredients:

5 cups sliced almonds, or a 1 pound package*
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cumin*
1-1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika* - some smoked paprikas are quite hot, if you don't like "hot", just use 1 teaspoon and they will be mildly spiced.
1 teaspoon vanilla
sea salt

*The cumin and the smoked paprika give just a hint of mysterious, delicious flavor - even though these are savory spices, these almonds are still wonderful served with sweets like ice cream or yogurt.

Directions:
1. Place a large sheet of foil on a work surface. Spray with cooking spray or rub a teaspoon of oil over foil with a paper towel.

2.  Place sugar in a large non-stick sauté pan and heat over medium heat , occasionally tipping and swirling the sugar until it is all melted into a pale golden syrup.

3. Lower heat immediately and add butter, cinnamon, smoked paprika and vanilla. Stir until well combined and all butter is incorporated into the sugar syrup.

4. Add the nuts and stir gently to coat. Don't worry if you have some clumps of caramelized sugar - they will melt as you continue to sauté the almonds. Cover and continue to cook on low, stirring every minute or so until almonds are a delicious golden brown. Watch very carefully as they can go from beautiful to burned very quickly! Turn out onto prepared foil and sprinkle liberally with sea salt. Spread out on foil to cool.

We chatted a lot about our families this past week. From growing them to marriages and other relationships within our own families. Lauren has 2 boys, Aiden & Isaac; Emily has a girl, Ellie; and I have my son, Wyatt. We try to get the kids together once a week or everyother week...maybe we should keep the ball rolling on this whole girls group thing and create a moms group as well (maybe we already have)...

Enjoy the recipes!
AK