To Tahini or Not to Tahini

I love hummus....but some of them out there just seem a little d r y.  So I decided to try something I saw somewhere...yea, I have NO idea where I saw this, but it stuck in my head.  Typically only weird stuff sticks...not important things such as where my keys are, what day of the week is it...umm...what month?

Anyway....I saw this recipe for an eggplant dip that reminded me of hummus.  So, I started off with these ingredients....

Yep...no Tahini, hence the post title!  I didn't have any and it was raining outside....really raining.  I didn't miss it, but try it if you have some and let me know how it tastes!!

So...I cut up the eggplant into cubes and roasted them in the oven....with the garlic!

Yea, I agree....roasted the garlic was the a great idea.  If I'm roasting anything that's going to have garlic in it/on it, it goes into the oven WITH it.  It's a no brainer, right?

 
I drained the beans, then put them in my mini food processor and "whizzed" them.

Then I put the roasted eggplant and garlic into the processor with the lemon juice and parsley and "whizzed" them..

Add the two together..........and VOILA!!!

I'm telling you, the eggplant made all the difference in the world!  It made it so much more silky....moist and full of flavor.  As much as I enjoy hummus, I'd take a tablespoon of this over a gallon of hummus.  Of course, then I'd go into the kitchen and make some more!


I hope you try it!

 

Carrabas Chicken Bryan

I tend to eat a bit on the "low carb" side of things.  I LOVE bread....but it doesn't love me back.  I've tried to ignore that, but sometimes I give in.

When life is busy and I don't have time to cook something up and I'm in the mood for something delicious while sticking to my low carb intentions, I go to Carrabas.....yes, their bread is a m a z i n g, but I can give up the bread knowing everything else in my meal will be awesome!  What do I get???  The chicken trio!  And MY favorite of the three is.........drum roll, please........Chicken Bryan!!! 

I love it for many reasons...but mostly because it has GOAT CHEESE on it!  I've searched far and wide for a good recipe and I found one that is close......but not quite right, so I altered it a bit.

 

I started by dicing up half of a pretty large shallot and three garlic cloves.

Then I melted two tablespoons of butter and sauteed the shallots and garlic. 

 

 

Then I added 2 tablespoons of lemon juice and 1/2 cup of white wine (I used a chardonnay).  I let that simmer until it was reduced by about 80%.   Then I added about  tablespoons of butter and turned off the heat.  The butter adds a silkiness to the sauce...if you continue to cook it, the milk solids will dissapate and it won't be as silky.  It will still taste delish though!  ;o)

Meanwhile I drizzled olive oil........screeeeeeeeeeeeeech...........wait....I didn't really use olive oil.  This recipe calls for some sundried tomatoes...mine are soaked in olive oil....and yes, I used that oil.  Why not?  It's packed with flavor!  Oh, and I've saved it for future tomato-ey recipes!





Now where were we?  Oh....I drizzed some of the oil onto the chicken breasts, along with salt and pepper....

I got my grill pan (thanks, Shelby) nice and hot, then I seared both sides to get those nice grill marks!

 

Then I turned down the heat, added a little white wine, covered the pan with a lid and let it finish cooking.  This added a little extra flavor, while keeping the meat moist.

 

Meanwhile, I was working on the toppings..........chopped basil, chopped sundried tomatoes and......GOAT CHEESE SLICES!!!!!

Once the chicken breasts were done, I put them on the plate and put the goat cheese slices on the top so they could begin to soften....topped that with the sundried tomatoes and the chopped basil, then poured over the sauce.........voila!

It really was delicious.........so delicious that I wish I had waited and made it for my Valentine's Day dinner!!!  Because Valentine's Day is such a special day to me for many reasons, I eat only my favorite things on that day!   I guess I'd better go now....I need to find something else to have tomorrow. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

CYa!