Tomato-Basil Soup

On a cold winter's day (back in Georgia moreso than Florida), there's nothing that I crave more than a warm bowl of soup. My favorite indulgence is La Madeleine's Tomato Basil soupe, which comes with an amazing amount of fat and calories - and not in a good way!

You can imagine how happy was I to come across a recipe for this soup in my February edition of Cooking Light that boasts half the fat but promises the same great taste. I admit I was skeptical, but after reading through the ingredient list and seeing that they substitued light cream cheese for heavy cream, I decided to give it a try. This substitution is made in a lot of their recipes, and I've had good results in the past. This time was no different - I got that rich velvety taste the original provides with an extra depth of flavor that comes from the fire roasted tomatoes. This version comes pretty darned close to the real thing if I do say so myself.

My garden is in the process of growing and my basil is just too young to pluck so I ended up using half a tube of basil paste that I had in the fridge. This worked as a great substitute and I would highly recommend it if necessary, even though those tubes can get pretty pricey. I also used my immersion blender since I love it so much, but I'd actually recommend that you do NOT do this for this recipe. My soup came out a little too chunky for my taste and I ended up putting it in my standard blender the next day with much better results.

My parents are coming to visit on Saturday and I'm going to whip up another batch alongside a grilled cheese BLT. I can't imagine a better pairing for the middle of February, even though it will be close to 80 degrees :)


Tomato-Basil Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups prechopped onion
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 (28-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, cut into cubes
• 2 cups 1% low-fat milk
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in garlic; cook for 1 minute. Add basil and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Stir in cheese until melted.

Place mixture in blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pan; stir in milk, salt, and pepper. Return to medium-high; cook 2 minutes.

Adapted from Cooking Light

Chocohotopots

I have one requirement for Valentine's Day each year: I MUST eat chocolate. Ok, maybe that's actually every day, but especially for this holiday. I don't even care if my husband is the one to get me chocolate, I just want to eat it. This year I decided I would provide the sweet treat, and let me tell you, I hit this one out of the park.

Chocohotopots are like molten lava cakes, except paired down to ramekin size. They give you that ooey, gooey chocolate texture you crave with a brownie-like type crust on top. This dessert was extremely rich and I would highly recommend pairing it with either vanilla ice cream or a cold glass of milk. 

The ingredient list for chocohotopots is simple and you probably have most of them on hand. I halved the recipe since there were just two of us and it came out perfectly. The next time you are craving an easy chocolate dessert, give this one a whirl - it's a definite winner.


Chocohotopots

Ingredients

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

4 ounces semisweet chocolate, with 60 percent cocoa solids

2 eggs

3/4 cup superfine sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Special equipment: 4 (2/3 to 1-cup capacity) ramekins

Place a baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F.

Butter the ramekins with 1 tablespoon butter.

Either in a microwave or in a bowl suspended over a pan over simmering water, melt the dark chocolate and 1 stick butter, then set aside to cool a little.

In another bowl, mix the eggs with the sugar and flour with a hand whisk and beat in the cooled butter and chocolate mixture. Divide the mixture between the 4 buttered ramekins.

Bake for about 20 minutes, by which time the tops will be cooked and cracked and the chocolate gooey underneath. Place each ramekin on a small plate with a teaspoon and serve. Make sure to warn people that these desserts will be HOT!

Adapted from Nigella Lawson

Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breast

About a month ago my dear friend Mo (who loves to cook just as much as I do), recommended a recipe he made for Thai Red Curry Mac 'n' Cheese. I immediately wanted to try it out (who doesn't like mac 'n cheese?), and seeing that the recipe came from Aarti Sequeria, I decided to pair it with an Indian-inspired main course. The result? This really great recipe for Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breast. The flavors in this rub totally knocked my socks off! The warmth of the cayenne pepper combined with the smokiness of the cumin gave a flavor profile that I wasn't expecting and I was pleasantly surprised.

Following some of the reviews I read, I mixed all of the spices together in a storage container and then only used half of it in a separate bowl to make the rub. There was more than enough available, and I rubbed both sides of the breast rather than just one so I could get a nice flavorful crust all around. Because we hadn't bought a grill yet, I used my trusty grill pan on the stove. While the results were just as good, my house definitely got more smokey than I'd like, so I'll be moving outdoors next time. There was too much heat in this dish for my son to join in (I just made a separate non-flavored breast for him), but it was perfect for my husband and I. Surprisingly, leftovers the next day weren't as piquant, but were just as good. Next time I'll follow the full recipe for the pita sandwich so we can enjoy the accompaniments that sound just as fabulous.


Tandoori Spiced Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons onion powder

2 tablespoons garlic powder

2 tablespoons ground ginger

2 tablespoons ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon ground cayenne

1 tablespoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon ground white pepper

1 tablespoon kosher salt

3 (8-ounce) boneless skinless chicken breasts

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Heat grill to medium-high. Combine all spices and the oil in a medium bowl to make a paste. Rub a thin layer of the spice paste onto 1 side of each chicken breast. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until slightly charred and just cooked through.

Adapted from Bobby Flay

Spicy Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

The Super Bowl will be here on Sunday, and I've got a great recipe for you to try out for the occasion. This one comes from Cooking Light, but have no fear - it's full of all the flavor you would expect from a pizza.

I took a few shortcuts (sometimes you have to on weeknights!) by purchasing a thin crust Boboli shell and by using jarred roasted red peppers instead of dicing up a fresh one. This also saved me time from having to cook it with the other veggies. Any old regular jar of spaghetti sauce should work for this recipe, and I recommend adding more cheese than the recipe says to (I went with 3/4 cup). Lastly, because I have a young son who doesn't tolerate spicy foods yet, I used mild instead of hot turkey sausage. It still had a great punch of flavor with just enough heat to balance out the sweetness of the onions.

The outcome? An awesome pizza, I must say. My husband and son happily gobbled it up. Does that make it a winner? I'd say so.


Spicy Sausage and Mushroom Pizza

Ingredients

• 1 pound refrigerated fresh pizza dough
• Cooking spray 
• 4 ounces hot turkey Italian sausage 
• 1 cup thinly sliced onion
• 1 (8-ounce) package presliced mushrooms
• 1 cup diced red or green bell pepper 
• 1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 cup lower-sodium marinara sauce (such as McCutcheon's)
• 1/2 cup (2 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 
• 1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese   

Preheat oven to 450°. Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray; let dough stand, covered, for 15 minutes.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat; coat pan with cooking spray. Remove casings from sausage. Add sausage to pan; cook 3 minutes, stirring to crumble. Add onion and mushrooms; sauté 4 minutes. Add bell pepper; sauté 2 minutes.

Sprinkle a baking sheet with cornmeal; roll dough into a 12-inch circle on prepared baking sheet. Spread sauce over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Top with sausage mixture. Sprinkle cheeses over sausage mixture. Bake at 450° on bottom oven rack for 17 minutes or until crust is golden.


Adapted from Cooking Light

Broiled Halibut with Ricotta-Pea Puree

I came across this recipe when I had some leftover ricotta and didn't feel like making anything Italian. We don't eat a lot of red meat in our house and I've been trying to get my husband to eat more fish over the years. With recipes like this, I think I'll succeed in my quest!

The original recipe called for halibut but my fishmonger didn't have any on hand. Instead, he recommended cod, which has the same density as halibut and has a sweet, delicate flavor without being over-fishy. When it comes to seasoning, I rarely use measuring spoons as some recipes just don't add enough flavor. With this particular recipe, I flavored with enough Paprika to cover both sides of the fish evenly, and I think it really helped in bringing out the fish's natural flavor. Preparation and cleanup were easy by lining my baking sheet with foil and by using my immersion blender instead of a food processor. With such a light fish, I added a nice glass of chardonnay, and I had a winning meal!


Broiled Halibut with Ricotta-Pea Puree

Ingredients

3 small carrots, quartered lengthwise

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

4 6-ounce center-cut skinless halibut fillets (1 3/4 inches thick)

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 10-ounce package frozen peas

1/3 cup ricotta cheese

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat the broiler. Line a broiler pan with foil and preheat 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, brush the carrots and onion with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Brush the fish with the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with the paprika; brush to coat the fish evenly with paprika.
Carefully remove the pan from the oven, place the fish in the center and scatter the onion and carrots around. Broil until the fish is golden and just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, microwave the peas in a bowl with 1/4 cup water until just tender, about 4 minutes. Transfer the peas and liquid to a food processor and pulse with the ricotta, butter and a pinch of salt to make a slightly chunky puree. Divide the puree among plates and top with the fish, carrots, onion and pan juices.

Adapted from Food Network Magazine

Welcome!

Welcome to Whitesides' Winning Recipes! First off, I'd like to thank my my sister Holly for the idea to start a blog, and my brother-in-law Scott for the great title. They both appreciate good food, and hopefully I deliver for them every once in a while!

I'll be using this blog to share recipes I've tried out for my family (only ones that are winners of course!), along with helpful cooking tips and suggestions. Thanks for visiting, and I hope I'll inspire you to get in the kitchen and cook some winning recipes!