Baby Greens, Apple & Onion Salad

I'm a big fan of salads. My typical lunch is usually chicken and baby greens topped with dried cranberries, goat or feta cheese and balsamic vinaigrette. But things have changed.

Two weeks before Christmas, when I was stretched thin and looking for fast and easy foods to put on the dinner table, I found this salad. It quickly became my new favorite (I had it for lunch again yesterday) and I know I'll be eating this often as I try to detox after the holidays. I’ve already memorized the recipe.

The dressing whips up in 5 minutes. The taste is such a great combo of sweet and tart that I don't even miss the cranberries and cheese. 

This simple salad goes nicely with a festive meal, too. I made this for Christmas at my mother-in-law's house. To keep things stress-free and simple, she ordered a catered holiday turkey dinner from Kroger. Despite the pre-cooked bird needing more time in the oven than we anticipated, the food was delicious and we were able to spend more time with each other rather than in the kitchen.

When we got to dessert (my sister-in-law whipped up a lemon meringue pie and I baked a Brownie Pudding Cake) I was pretty glad we had added the salad! 

If you need something green to go along with a New Year’s meal or you are craving a healthy and light main dish, give this salad a try. Add some cooked chicken or turkey and dinner is served.

Happy New Year and Mangia! Mangia!

--Andrea

Baby Greens, Apple & Onion Salad

Inspired by Rachel Ray

¼ cup olive oil

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon grain or brown mustard

1 tablespoon honey

16 ounces salad greens (baby spinach, spring greens or a mixture)

1 large apple, peeled, cored and thinly sliced (Golden Delicious or Fuji works well)

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

Ground pepper to taste

Place oil, vinegar, mustard and honey in a small jar or plastic container. Cover tightly with a lid and shake until well blended. 

Place greens, apple and onion in a large bowl. Pour dressing over greens and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Here's the salad brightening up our Christmas dinner.

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

A while back a friend on Facebook posted about preparing cabbage rolls. While I wanted to make them, too, there are just way to many steps involved for a cabbage dish I wasn't sure anyone in my family but myself would appreciate.

Flash forward to a couple weeks ago, a friend on Facebook posted a link to unstuffed cabbage rolls. Genius. Now, we're talking. I whipped up these unstuffed cabbage rolls, adding red wine vinegar to the original recipe.

The verdict: we loved this meal. Well, Jeff, Penny and I did and we ate it for two dinners in a row. I couldn't believe it. The husband is not a big fan of cabbage or eating the same dinner back-to-back. Lucy, however, couldn't get past the mere sight of cabbage in her bowl.

Next time I might add a dash of paprika in keeping with the Eastern European heritage of the dish. You could easily add rice, provided you added more water along with it.

Next time you are searching for old school style comfort food, I hope you think of unstuffed cabbage rolls. I certainly will.

XOXO,
Amy

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
Serves 6 to 8

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 small to medium-sized cabbage, chopped, making sure to remove the hard stem that runs up the middle
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) no salt added diced tomatoes, not drained
1 can (8 ounces) added tomato sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook, stirring, until beef is no longer pink and onion is tender.

Add garlic and continue cooking for one minute.

Unless your skillet is big enough to accommodate all the other ingredients, transfer the beef mixture to a large pot or stock pot before adding the other ingredients.

Add the cabbage, tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine vinegar, water, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Merry Christmas!

There's a forest worth of wrapping paper littering the living room. Half-eaten candy canes are stuck to the upholstery. We're kicking ourselves for forgetting to buy another pack of AAA batteries. It's Christmas.

As we gather around the table with our families and friends today, we want to express our gratitude to you, our dear readers. You give us the best gift...the gift of your time. Thank you for taking time out of your busy days to read Hot Dinner Happy Home, for following along on our culinary adventures and sharing your kitchen creations with us. We are so thankful for you!

Wishing you the happiest of holidays!
Amy, Andrea and Erin

P.S. Enjoy a peek into our celebration...Erin's kids enjoying the tree in their holiday finery. (Insert all the heart-eye emojis.)

Erin's 2015 Christmas Menu

We do beef on Christmas. In Christmases past, we've made Beef Tenderloin with Roasted Shallots, Bacon, and Port. It's good stuff.

This year we're celebrating the holidays with the husband's family in Seattle. Now that we also live here in the Northwest, it's the first year that we get to sleep in our own beds and wake up to our own Christmas tree and still see family. We're pretty excited about it!

As I've mentioned a plethora of times, my mother in law is pretty much the best cook ever. I've learned so much from her! On Christmas, the husband will help her make a prime rib seasoned with a blizzard of salt and pepper, seared over high heat to form a crisp crust, and roasted in a low oven to buttery perfection. It's divine.

I'm in charge of some sides this year. On Christmas Eve I'm bringing my mom's Cheesy Potatoes to the extended family gathering. For Christmas dinner I'm contributing Potato Gratin with Smoked Cheddar Cheese. My MIL has made this one several times, and it's good. She said it's pretty easy if you use your food processor to slice the spuds. And it transports easily. I'll just bake it at home and we can re-heat it at her house.

Because there's never enough cookies on Christmas, I'm also bringing Cardamom Cookies. They have all the flavors of the holidays.

Andrea's Christmas Antipasto

We're spending Christmas in Cincinnati with my husband's family, whose holiday meal tradition is that dinner is different each time! This year, our big meal will be a turkey dinner on Christmas Eve, as some of our group will depart Christmas Day to visit other family members.

On the Tortora side, Christmas Day means raviolis with homemade tomato sauce and meatballs, and hot and mild Italian sausage. The meal always begins with an antipasto. This is a huge platter of salami, ham, prosciutto and other cured meats like capicola, plus provolone and mozzarella cheeses, assorted olives, pickled mushrooms and eggplant and stuffed hot peppers. Roasted garlic cloves, Italian bread and focacia round out the spread.

The appetizer is much like a charcuterie board. It's a great dish to serve at parties, especially during the holiday season. And you might be surprised at how much the kids enjoy it, too.

Last Christmas during our antipasto course, we discovered how much Sam enjoyed proscuitto, which he calls "thin meat." For weeks afterward he requested prosciutto sandwiches in his lunch box. Sam's love of this cured ham was re-ignited when he met this gorgeous platter at a gathering hosted by his Aunt Karen (who also took this photo.)

Karen's neighbor Kim crafted this masterpiece, and I'm planning to re-create it this week. Kim was thrilled that Sam and Karen's nephew Harrison were willing to try out the different combinations of meat and cheese. Here's Kim, sharing her foodie knowledge with newbies Sam (in orange) and Harrison:

The big surprise came when Sam consumed all of the proscuitto, all by himself. Luckily, Kim was a good sport, noting that at least the meats were domestic and not imported!

If you want to go all out, do get some Proscuitto di Parma for your table. It's definitely worth spending a little extra to try the real thing. Need tips on crafting the perfect charcuterie board? Click here. And if you enjoy beautiful charcuterie photos, check out In Parma by Food Roots on the web or follow the London restaurant: @inparma.

Merry Christmas and Mangia! Mangia!
--Andrea

P.S. Here's a shot of my family from last night as we enjoyed some Christmas decorations.

Amy's 2015 Christmas Menu

It's late on December 21. Do you know what you're cooking for Christmas dinner? I thought I'd share my family's favorite Christmas main course: Real Simple's Peppered Roast Beef with Horseradish Sauce.


Photo by Real Simple

This year, I will serve  this roast beef with steamed green beans, Julia Child's Potato Dauphinois (scalloped potatoes) and an apple pie from Tootie Pie Co. in Texas, a delicious gift from a client who is way too good to me.

A word about the main dish. This beef is so good that I regret all the years I wasted serving ham on Christmas. This beef is so good that one year we heard my dad humming as he ate. This sauce with this beef is so good that my mom and mother-in-law have each made it repeatedly. This dish is so good that I don't think hubby would  like me serving anything else on Christmas -- not that I ever plan to.

Another tradition in my family: Christmas crackers -- wherein we pretend we're British (the hubby is good to put up with this) and crack open the traditional favors and don paper crowns. We always snap some pics, exclaiming "Happy Christmas!" just as the Brits do. The kids love it and so do I! To read more about Christmas crackers, click here.

Happy Christmas!

XOXO,
Amy

Pork Chops with Apple Shallot Pan Sauce

We are mere days away from the winter solstice, and it is dark around here. Seriously, people. Seattle is really far north, and it looks like midnight at 3:30 p.m. Add in the cloud coverage and pouring rain...gross.

To combat this crummy weather, I need cozy food. Simple, belly-filling meals like Pork Chops with Apple Shallot Pan Sauce. It comes together quickly (leaving you plenty of time to wrap a few Christmas presents), but it still feels special. You could totally serve this to company and look like a rock star.

Why don't we show this dreary darkness who's boss and make some hot dinner.

Let's get cooking!
Erin

Pork Chops with Apple Shallot Pan Sauce
Inspired by Pork Tenderloin with Apples and Shallots
Serves: 2

1/2 tablespoon oil
2 boneless pork chops, 1 1/2" thick
Salt and pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium apple, thinly sliced
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup chicken broth

Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high. Generously season pork chops with salt and pepper and sprinkle with thyme on both sides. Add pork to pan and cook until pork chops are browned and release easily when you try to move them, about 5-7 minutes per side. Remove pork chops to a plate and tent with foil.

Reduce heat to medium and add butter, apple, and shallot to the pan. Cook until the apples begin to soften, about 5-7 minutes.

Stir in chicken broth and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Return pork chops and any accumulated juice to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the pork is fully cooked. This will just take a few minutes. (Pork should reach an internal temperature of about 145 degrees.) Tent with foil and allow pork to rest for 5 minutes before serving with the apple shallot sauce.