One of my besties just moved to Chicago from Ohio.  As a fellow former Ohioan we had a lot of celebrating to do having both made it back to our Illinois home base.  We went for a run and then had salmon with tzatziki.  I made the tzatziki in advance (so the ingredients can hang out and become best friends) and then served the dish with a side of sautéed kale and radish.

Ohio escapees…. just kidding OH I love you

For the kale and radish deal (inspired from Bon Appetit):

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil over in a big pot over medium heat.  Add two bunches of kale (that you have removed the center ribs/stems from and chopped the leaves up).  Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.  Add two radishes that you have sliced thin and one tablespoon of sherry vinegar.  Season with salt/pep.  Done.

Tzatziki is like cucumber crack.  It’s great with fish or chicken, pita bread or, in my case; a spoon.  I made the genius move of mixing up a huge bowl of this heaven pile so I could eat it with this salmon and all day the following day directly from bowl to trap.

You’ll need:

1 English Cucumber (you know what I mean- one of the skinny cucs)

4 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 cups Greek Yogurt (I used 2%- make sure you don’t buy something cheap like generic brand….this is the base of the dip so step up)

A little less than 0.25 cup chopped dill and 0.25 cup chopped mint, to your taste (I did a little bit more dill than mint but be careful dill is strong- unless you’re tough like me and can take it)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise.  Scrape out the seeds and throw them away.  Grate the cuc on a cheese grater (on the large holes). 

Mix the cucumber goo with salt and let it stand in a strainer for 30 minutes.  Toss occasionally.  Squeeze the cucs in a papertowel/dishtowel to get out the excess liquid and transfer to a large bowl.

Mix the cucs with the rest of the ingredients.    Add lemon if you need it.  HEAVEN.

Grab two salmon filets.   Season with salt/pep and rub the skin with of each with 1.5 tablespoon of room temp butter.  Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in sauté pan over medium high heat like you mean it.   Add salmon to the pan skin side down and cook for six minutes.  You’ll want to flip before then… don’t.  Flip after six minutes and let cook on the other side for one minute.  Serve with tzatziki and sautéed kale with radishes or whatever your heart desires.

I like playing cards.  I’m not sorry for as nerdy as I am about food it shouldn’t be a surprise that I am also into a card focused game night.  I had three of my besties over last week and made a bunch of snacks on snacks.  A couple of bottles of wine later and a victory by me and my teammate I busted out these individual raspberry crisps.  As if winning cards wasn’t enough I got to devour sweetened and buttered fruit as a reward.  The beauty of these crisps is you can assemble them in advance, bake them off when needed and you don’t even need to plate them in their cute individual state they are good to go.

Inspired by Alton Brown.

Mix 1 cup of flour, 2/3 cup of sugar, 1.5 cups of sliced almonds and 1.5 cups of oatmeal in a bowl.  Using your hands mix in 1 stick of cold butter you have cubed up.   This is your carb/butter pile.

In a separate bowl mix 12 ounces of raspberry (yes you can use frozen) 0.25 cups of sugar, 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 0.5 cups of the carb/butter mixture you just made above. 

Divide into 4 ramekins and top each with the remaining carb/butter pile.

 Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F.  If they don’t look browned enough for you turn the broiler on for a hot second.  Top with ice cream (I used coffee but you can’t  really lose no matter what flavor you choose).

Madeleines are insanely easy (example here) but you can only eat so many of these sugary treats in a week.  That’s why Parmesan Rosemary Madeleines are a true gift.  This is a cookie vehicle for cheese and carbs in classy way.  Need I say more.

Inspired by Williams-Sonoma

You’ll need:

6 tablespoons of butter, melted plus more for the Madeleine pan

1 cup flour

3 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 tsp fleur de sel

0.25 tsp pepper

4 eggs

1 tsp sugar

1 cup freshly grated parmesan

Brush the mold of your Madeleine pan with melted butter.

Mix the flour, rosemary, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl.  In a separate bowl beat the eggs on high for about 3 minutes.  Beat in the sugar.  Gently fold in the flour mixture, cheese and 6 tablespoons of butter.  Spoon into prepared pan and bake at 375 for 12 minutes.

These cheesy puffy piles were part of girl’s night and let me tell you they were well received.  Get on this.