Lou Malnati's in my opinion is the BEST Chicago-style deep dish pizza in Chicago!  The crust is so buttery and flaky.  Our favorite is The "Lou",  Fresh spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes covered with a blend of mozzarella, romano and cheddar cheese. While we wait the 45 minutes it takes to cook the pizza we usually order the Malnati Salad, (Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sliced mushrooms, crumbled salami and gorgonzola cheese and tossed with Lou's famous dressing with a touch of romano cheese.  If you are in Chicago and hungry for pizza check out Lou Malnati's, it's so good! Find all their locations here - http://www.loumalnatis.com.

Steak, King Crab and Bearnaise sauce

I LOVE summer grilling, makes cooking for two easy and fast.  I made this steak dinner extra special with some King crab legs.  Then over the steak and crab I spooned over some Bearnaise sauce.  I didn't make the Bearnaise sauce from scratch but used Knor's brand as I really like it.  I used a Ribeye steak (seasoned, grilled and sliced), King Crab (I get at Sam's Club, cooks up in minutes), Knor's Bearnaise sauce and served it all with fresh green beans.  It was a easy, fast and delicious summer meal!  If you have leftover Bearnaise sauce, don't waste it, serve it the next night on some roasted asparagus. 

Garlic Tomato Bruschetta

This is a basic recipe for tomato bruschetta. This makes a small batch, but can be doubled and doubled again depending how much you'll need. Start here and add to taste.  This is what summer taste like!

2 -3 Roma tomatoes (about 1 1/2 cups), diced (if using large tomatoes that are juicy, drain before adding to other ingredients)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (has to be fresh)
1 garlic clove, minced or chopped fine
season with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon freshly shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (more cheese is even better!)
1 french baguette

In a bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Refrigerate or serve at room temperature. Cut bread into thin slices; toast under broiler or bake at 450 until lightly toasted. (Watch closely because if you burn the toast you won't have bruschetta!) You want the bread to be toasted, not soft (or burned). To serve, put tomato mixture in a bowl and toast on a tray. Let everyone help themselves. If bruschetta is going to be served immediately spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of toast and serve.
*This can be doubled and doubled again, as needed.

Tuscan-Style Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Spinach

I got this recipe from  Rachael Ray's Cookbook, "Comfort Foods 30-Minute Meals".   It was simple to make and came together quickly.  We really like this, the crunchy chicken and the creamy spinach with just a touch of lemon.  Made for an easy week night dinner.

Servings: 4

1 1/2 pounds chicken breast cutlets

2 large plastic food storage bags

3 large eggs, beaten

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon poultry seasoning

Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

Vegetable or extra-virgin olive oil, for frying

1 large lemon, cut into wedges

Garnish - freshly shaved Parmesan cheese (I forgot to add it in the photo)

1 recipe Creamy Spinach (recipe follows)

Place cutlets in large food storage bags a few inches apart and lightly pound to 1/4-inch thickness.

Beat eggs in a shallow dish. Mix flour, poultry seasoning, and salt and pepper in a second dish.

Place a cookie sheet in oven on low heat, about 275 degrees F.

Heat 1/2 inch oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat.

Dip chicken in egg and coat each cutlet in the flour mixture.. Add cutlets to oil, 2 or 3 at at time, and brown till lightly golden, 3 minutes on each side. Place cutlets in oven on low and repeat process until all the cutlets are done. Serve shaved parmesan and with lemon wedges (squeeze the  lemon over chicken as it really adds to the flavor of this dish) and Creamy Spinach. 

Creamy Spinach

 16 oz tub, fresh spinach (this seems like a lot but it really cooks down)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

 1 1/2 teaspoons butter

1 medium shallot, peeled and chopped fine (I also added a clove of minced garlic)

1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup milk (I used skim)

3 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (I didn't use as I don't care for nutmeg)

Coarse salt and black pepper, to taste

Sort spinach leaves and remove large, tough stems. Coarsely chop and set aside. (I used baby spinach so didn't chop)

Heat a deep large skillet over medium to medium-low heat. Add oil and butter. When butter melts, add shallot and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add garlic and saute 1 more minute. Whisk in flour and cook a minute before adding  milk and then whisk until smooth. Add cream cheese and whisk until melted. Place spinach into the pan in stages. Turn spinach in sauce, and as it wilts, add more and more greens. Season with salt and pepper.

Antipasto Tuna Grinder

This tuna sandwich has a lot of ingredients but they are ingredients I already have in the fridge as we love all these Mediterranean flavors.  I had come across a recipe that layered all these ingredient on a baguette roll.  It was good BUT it was hard to eat as the crusty baguette roll made all the layers slide out as you took a bite.  It was messy but I knew the flavors worked really well.  I solved the sliding problem by combining all the ingredients together and served on a toasted soft french roll.  I've made this several times just to get the measurements down and now it's a keeper recipe!

Soft French Roll, toasted

Ingredients:  french rolls (3-4), garlic clove, olive oil, Albacore tuna, red onion, banana peppers, artichoke hearts , roasted red peppers, capers, Kalamata olives, black pepper, feta, lettuce and mayo (whoops, not shown).

Ingredients:
3-4 Soft French rolls (depending on size)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 pouch (6.4 oz each) Albacore tuna, drained (I just pat it dry with paper towel)
2 Tablespoons red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup banana peppers, chopped
3-4 artichoke hearts, pack in water, drained and chopped (I pat with paper towel as it's holds a lot of liquid)
1 (1/4 cup) roasted red peppers, drained and chopped
1 Tablespoons, capers, drained
10 (1/4 cup) Kalamata olives (pitted), chopped
A few grinds black pepper
1/4 cup feta, crumbled
2-3 Tablespoons mayo, (just enough to bind mixture together)
lettuce

Directions:
Cut French roll in half lengthwise (not cutting through).
Cover garlic with oil in a small dish and microwave on high for 30 seconds.  Brush bread evenly with oil.  Broil roll just until lightly toasted (watch carefully!)
In a bowl combine remaining ingredients except for lettuce.
On toasted rolls layer with lettuce and tuna mixture.  Yum!

Avocado Black Bean Salsa

This is one recipe I will make several times during the summer.  I've posted this recipe before but it's worth a reminder as it's an all time favorite.  I'll be making it this weekend for Father's Day as it will make a great appetizer before the hamburgers and brats hit the grill.  It's colorful, fresh tasting and healthy.  

1 can Bush's Best Black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (11 oz) sweet whole kernel corn, drained
2 medium tomatoes, chopped (remove seeds)
(I like to use 4 roma tomatoes, less seeds)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 minced fresh jalapeno pepper
4 T. fresh lime juice
2 T. red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 avocado, diced
tortilla chips


Combine black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes and next 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add avocado last and lightly toss so not to mush up. Cover using plastic wrap putting it right on top of salsa (this helps keep the avocados from turning brown) and chill at least 2 hours. Serve with tortilla chips.


Tip: I like to take the lime (after it's been juiced) and rub down the bowl you will be serving the salsa in. I also rub the lime on the plastic wrap this will help keep the avocados from turning brown.

!!!This makes a lot!  What I do if we won't be eating the whole batch is I will make the salsa and only add the avocado, tomato, lime juice and vinegar to half the batch.  That way the the rest of the batch with the beans, corn, onions and peppers will stay fresh in the fridge until you want to make more.  The other day I had a 1/2 batch of salsa in the fridge and I made some new potato salad with mayo and a little Dijon.  Then I folded in the corn salsa and diced avocado.  It was so good!  It's always fun to reinvent leftovers.

Simple breakfast & lunch cafe

I haven't posted lately as I haven't made any thing worth sharing.  I tried again tonight and made a new recipe for marinaded steak but both my husband and I didn't like it.  Oh well, the salad tasted good.  Since I don't have any new recipes to share I though I would share a little about this restaurant, Simple. They buy directly from local farmers whenever possible, ensuring the freshest and best tasting ingredients possible. I went twice in one week as it was so good.  Below are the dishes we ordered.  It was all delicious!  We can't wait to go back and try lunch. 

Mashed Potato Omelet

Creamy mashed potato, fruit wood smoked bacon, green onion, topped w/Creole hollandaise (served w/bacon garlic brussels sprouts)

Turkey, Bacon & Brussels Sprouts Hash  House roasted turkey, shredded brussels sprouts, bacon, gruyére cheese, caramelized onion,potato,topped w/two eggs (any style)

Apple Crumble French Toast
Brioche French toast topped w/cinnamon baked apples, crisp crumble and  cider reduction infused maple syrup