tuna melts

I love tuna melts. My sister and I got addicted to them many summers ago. We'd eat them practically everyday for lunch. There's a fun story behind our tuna melting adventures actually, but I won't embarrass her by recounting that one again here (...you can email me if you want to know!) I got the craving again the other night, so I whipped up a few. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 can tuna
• 1 teaspoon mayonnaise
• 2 tomato slices
• 4 slices thick cut Italian bread (or any bread of your choice)
• 2 slices American cheese
• 1/2 tablespoon butter
• Dash of garlic salt

Begin by mixing the tuna, mayonnaise and garlic salt in a bowl together. Next, melt the butter in a large non-stick skillet. Lightly brown each side of each slice of bread (just a minute or so per side), then build out two sandwiches (bread-tuna-tomato-cheese-bread). Heat on the skillet until the cheese (not the meat!) begins to melt. Serve immediately.

Is this a ground-breaking recipe? No. But sometimes we all need to be reminded of the simple joys in life. I suppose this is my reminder that tuna melts are delicious.

Bon chappétit!

veal scallops w/ prosciutto & sage

I'll start by saying that I'm well aware that today's dish might be controversial to some. I know many are ethically opposed to things like veal. Sometimes I am; last night I was not. I've never actually cooked with it before, and I was curious to see how it would go. Now that I'm typing this up, I realize that I actually made almost the identical recipe back in October with tilapia. So if you think this sounds good, but can't bring yourself to use veal, try that one! But if you're willing to forge ahead, here's what you'll need:

• 6 veal scallops (about 1/2 lb.)
• 6 slices of prosciutto
• 6 sage leaves
• 1 cup flour
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• Pepper

Begin by taking each veal scallop and topping with a slice of prosciutto and a sage leaf. Secure the three together with a toothpick. Dust each scallop lightly with flour, shaking off any excess.

Melt the butter in a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Place the veal scallops prosciutto-side down for about 1 minute (or until it begins to turn golden brown). Flip and cook for about another minute, lightly dusting them with pepper. Then reduce the heat and cook for another few minutes (4-5, depending on their thickness) until the veal is cooked through.

Remove from heat and set aside. Add the wine to the pan to deglaze. Let boil for a few minutes until most of it has cooked off, then serve over the scallops as a sauce (this probably serves two easily). I thought the flavors were really lovely together.

Bon chappétit!

salmon w/ brown sugar glaze

If you follow the blog regularly, you may have noticed some patterns developing. One of which is my growing obsession with dishes that combine salmon and dijon mustard (you can see past recipes here and here). I recently tried another one that was even more simple than most recipes on the site (which is really saying something) and quite delicious. Here's what you'll need:

• Salmon filets
• 2 parts brown sugar
• 1 part dijon mustard
• Salt and pepper to taste

Begin by preheating your oven to 400 degrees. Next prep the glaze by mixing the brown sugar and mustard in a bowl. For one salmon filet, I did 2 teaspoons sugar and 1 teaspoon mustard. Mash it all together and let it sit for 2 minutes (it'll become nice and glaze-like while it hangs out over there).

Lightly salt and pepper your salmon and place it on a piece of tinfoil. Spread the glaze generously over top, then loosely tent the foil over the salmon. Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes covered, and another 3 or so uncovered (or until salmon flakes easily with a fork).

Presto, dunzo, you're ready to eat.

Bon chappétit!

tuna noodle casserole, part deux

As many of you know, I'm a huge fan of casserole season. Now that the weather is friggid out, I've been revisiting some favorites. Tonight, I was in the mood for a tuna noodle casserole. I've made one once before that I've posted on the blog. However, the last time I had this, I felt it was a little...underwhelming. I found a recipe for homemade - yet still simple - tuna casserole. I added my own touch to it and gave it a whirl. It turned out fantastic. If you love the dish in general, you'll definitely love how this one turns out. Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup butter, divided
• 1/2 package uncooked medium egg noodles
• 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1.5 cups milk
• 2 cans tuna, drained and flaked
• 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
• 1 small can French's fried onions
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

So, this is going to sound like a lot of time and energy to put into a simple dish. However, you can do all three of the following paragraphs simultaneously and it will only take about 10 minutes to prep. It's not as bad as it sounds - promise.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Butter a medium baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add egg noodles, cook per the package directions and drain.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the chopped onion and garlic, and cook 5 minutes, or until tender. Increase the heat to medium-high, and mix in the mushrooms. Continue to cook and stir 5 minutes, or until the mushrooms soften.

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, and whisk in flour until smooth. Gradually whisk in milk, and continue cooking 5 minutes, or until sauce is smooth and slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the tuna, peas, mushroom mixture, and cooked noodles.

Transfer everything to the baking dish. Spread the cheddar cheese in a layer across the top, and finish everything off with the French's onions.

Bake for 20 minutes covered, and then uncover for 2-5 minutes, or until the onions on top begin to brown just a bit.

It's probably due to the insane amount of butter, but this dish was incredible! So much flavor, and such a huge improvement over the last tuna casserole recipe. And to boot, I got a huge dinner and two generous lunches out of it - all for under $20. Can't beat that.

Bon chappétit!

Been awhile...

So many of you out there probably think I just got completely tired of keeping up with the blog and dropped all activities related to it. Much to the contrary, I've been in overdrive the past 6 weeks or so. Problem is, it was all for a secret, so I wasn't able to post. And do to all this, among other things, I was too busy to try many new recipes out.

However, the cat's now out of the bag and I can finally fill you all in. I've actually been turning my favorite meals from 2010 into the first edition of the Bon Chappetit cookbook! I made a fancier version for the family for Christmas, however I tried to make it a little more affordable for the masses, should any of you want to take this little gem home for yourselves. You can check out a preview below.

I would like to thank everyone who's been following the blog through the past year. It's been an incredibly enriching experience, and I look forward to continued posting in 2011. Happy New Year everyone!

Bon Chappetit by Christopher Chappel | Make Your Own Book

shrimp & pancetta over polenta

Last night I was in the mood for something different. I've been in the chicken/beef rut lately. I was pondering shrimp, then pork, then I came across this recipe that combine both, so I figured why not? Here's what you'll need:

• 1/2 cup instant polenta
• 1/4 pound pancetta, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 (14-ounces) can diced tomatoes in juice
• 1 pound cleaned large shrimp
• Parsley for garnish

Cook the polenta according to the package instructions in a medium saucepan until thickened and creamy, about 5-8 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt, then cover and set aside.

Cook the pancetta, garlic and red pepper flakes in 2 tablespoon oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat, stirring until the garlic is pale golden and the pancetta begins to crisp a bit, 5 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes with their juice and simmer until the liquid is reduced, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Spoon polenta into bowls and top with shrimp mixture. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil, season with pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Done and done.

Bon chappétit!

chicken w/roasted grapes and shallots

Roasted grapes? You might think that equals raisins. I did. However, that was not the case. The case was that they baked with a chicken breast and some shallots to create a great tasting dish. Here's what you'll need:

• Chicken breast
• 2 shallots, peeled and halved
• A handful of seedless grapes, halved (I used a mixed of red and green)
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic
• Salt and pepper

The recipe I based this on said to just straight-up bake the chicken. However, baking chicken always scares me. It always seems to take way longer than the recipe calls for, and even then, the chicken isn't quite done. Because of this, I decided to sauté the chicken for just five minutes or so with half the oil, the garlic, salt and pepper.

While that's going, cut up the grapes and shallots and chopped the thyme. Combine all three into a small both and mix with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.

When the chicken is browned, place it in a piece of tinfoil in a glass baking dish and surrounded it with the grape mixture. Loosely cover and bake at 400 degree for about 30-40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Super easy to prepare, and the flavors really complimented each other. I don't even normally like grapes that much, but I wish I'd put even more in because they were just that good. Give it a try.

Bon chappétit!

steak w/pomegranate glaze

I'm back! Truth be told, I never left. I've still been cooking, but I haven't been trying anything new or adventurous the past few weeks - just sticking to old standbys that have already been posted. Tonight though - lo! - I was back on the foodie horse, trying out some new ingredients that haven't been featured on the blog before. As usual, it was delicious (otherwise I wouldn't post it here). Here's what you'll need:

• 1 top sirloin steak
• Peppercorn mélange, coarsely ground
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
• 1/2 cup pomegranate juice
• 2 teaspoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar, divided
• 2 cups arugula
• Salt

Begin sprinkling each side of the steak with the chopped rosemary, salt and pepper. Give each side a pat to really make them stick. Heat 1/2 teaspoon olive oil over medium-high heat in a non-stick skillet. Add the steak and cook for about 5 minutes on each side, flipping only once for medium to medium-well doneness. When finished, place the steak on a cutting board and let it sit for about 5 minutes.

While that's going, toss the arugula with the remaining 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

Once the steak is done, add the pomegranate juice, remaining teaspoon of balsamic and brown sugar to the skillet to deglaze. Lightly boil for about 5 minutes or so. You want this to reduce down to a thick glaze.

Slice the steak, pile on to the arugula salad and drizzle the pomegranate glaze on top. A delicioso meal in under 20 minutes.

Bon chappétit!

tilapia w/ prosciutto & sage

Tonight was another one of those great little meals that was complete - start to finish - in under 20 minutes. And delicious to boot! It also only took 3 ingredients (plus oil and pepper). Bliss. Here's what you'll need:

• Tilapia fillets
• Prosciutto (2 paper-thin slices per fillet)
• Sage
• Olive oil
• Pepper

Begin by cutting the fillet in half and patting each half dry. Sprinkle with a little pepper - not salt needed due to the prosciutto. Tear off a few leaves of sage and hold them against the tilapia with one hand. With the other, wrap a couple slices of prosciutto around the fillet, securing the sage. The prosciutto should hold itself together pretty nicely.

Heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a non-stick skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Place the tilapia in the skillet (prosciutto seam side down) and cook for about 3-4 minutes per side, depending on the size of your fillet.

Remove and serve. Really simple flavor combinations for a great weeknight meal.

Bon chappétit!

beef, shiitake & snow pea stir-fry

If you follow the blog regularly, you know that there's nothing that pleases me more than a delicious meal that takes less than no time to prepare. This evening I decided to go for an Asian stir-fry dish that I haven't tried before. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 1/2 lb. top sirloin steak, cut into 2"x1/4" thick slices
• 1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
• 8 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced
• 8 ounces snow peas
• 1 bunch green onions, sliced, divided
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce

Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Heat the sesame oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add in the ginger and mushrooms and stir-fry until the mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Add the beef to the skillet and stir-fry until the beef browns but is still a little pink in center, about a minute or so. Toss in the snow peas, green onions and cilantro and stir-fry another minute. Stir in the hoisin and chili-garlic sauce and sauté until peas are crisp-tender, another 1 to 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Bon chappétit!