Sunday Dinner

With all the travel I've got going on lately, there's been no time to try the many new recipes that continue to pile up on my desk. So, I decided to just do an entire meal of new recipes for Sunday dinner tonight. My dad and Loni are here this weekend, so it was fun to have a couple more taste testers than usual.
-

The Menu

Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese and Basil (new recipe from Doug & Jan)

Corn Bread Crostini (new recipe from Rachel Ray)

Baked Asparagus 

Mixed Green Salad with Pears, Avocado and Golden Raisins

Raspberry Chocolate Angel Food Cake (new recipe from Self.com - big surprise on just how good this one was)

-
Chicken with Herbed Goat Cheese and Basil
This one couldn't get any easier - cut 1/2 inch thick slices of garlic and herb goat cheese and place it under the skin of a chicken breast, along with a couple basil leaves. Rub top with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 375 for 35-40 minutes. Done!
-
Corn Bread Crostini
This is basically bruschetta with corn. It's savory and has great flavor - and I even made a lowfat version by using turkey bacon and fat free half and half. 
-
EVOO, for drizzling
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 slices speck or bacon, chopped (I used turkey bacon)
3 ears corn, kernels scraped
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 cup heavy cream or half and half (I used fat free half and half)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 scallions, finely chopped
12 round slices crusty bread or baguette, about 2-3 inches in diameter
I also added about 1/2 chopped sweet onion... just for kicks :)
-
Heat drizzle of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and speck and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the corn and cook until it's creamy and sweet, about 8-10 minutes. Add the butter and cream. Season with salt and pepper and stir in half the scallions.
-
Preheat the broiler, if using, and cook the bread under the broiler until it's golden brown. Top the toast with the corn mixture and garnish with the remaining scallions.
-
Baked Asparagus
This is my favorite way of cooking asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven at 425 for 5-8 minutes until slightly tender and starting to brown. Done!
-
Mixed Green Salad with Pears, Avocado and Golden Raisins
Can you tell that this was basically a salad made of what I had in the fridge? For the dressing, I just combined olive oil, fresh lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper. Nice and light.
-
Raspberry Chocolate Angel Food Cake
I was a little unsure about this one, since it came from a fitness magazine, but it turned out to be a huge hit.
-
Cake
8 large egg whites
1 teaspoon cream of tartar 
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
-
Filling
1/2 cup seedless raspberry preserves
-
Frosting
6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup sour cream
fresh raspberries for garnish
-
Heat oven to 350. Coat bottom (not sides) of 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray. Beat egg whites, 1 tbsp water, cream of tartar and salt in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium-low speed until foamy. Continue to beat, adding sugar a little at a time, until batter is fluffy. Add vanilla and beat another minute. Sprinkle a small amount of flour over the top of the batter and fold in; repeat 8-10 times or until you've incorporated all the flour. Spread the batter in the pan, coaxing evening into corners with a rubber spatula, and shake pan once or twice to even out the surface. Bake until cake is a light golden color and surface springs back gently to touch, 25-30 minutes (mine was closer to 22 minutes). Run a sharp knife around the edges of the cake to separate from the pan. Cool on a rack two hours.
-
Heat preserves in a small pan over medium heat, stirring constantly until it reaches a gentle simmer.
-
Melt the chocolate in a double broiler. Take bowl off heat; stir in sour cream.
-
To assemble, place a cutting board over cake pan; invert cake onto board. With a 2.5 inch biscuit cutter or round cookie cutter, cut 12 rounds from cake (I only got about 10 out of mine). Top half of the rounds with a heaping tablespoon of the raspberry filling. Then place remaining cake rounds on top. Spread about 1/4 cup (I did closer to 1/3 - 1/2 cup since I had less cakes) frosting over top and sides. Top with raspberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate and bring to room temperature one hour before serving.

Bon Appetite!