Chicken with Roasted Lemons, Green Olives and Capers

I have many many lemons. I don't know how I got so many. I think it was because every time I went to the store I couldn't remember how many I had left so I ended up buying more. Now, I have to use them all. Which was the inspiration behind making this dish, Chicken with Roasted Lemons, Green Olives, and Capers. I served it with sauteed spinach and pasta.
It reminded me a little of chicken picatta and honestly, I think I'll stick with chicken picatta. But, it was a good dish and I really liked the olives with the lemon.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-with-Roasted-Lemons-Green-Olives-and-Capers-105556

Dessert Wars Entry- Nutella Smore Cupcakes

Dessert is my favorite part of any meal and no matter when I'm eating I have to end with something sweet. When I heard about the new blog Dessert Wars I was super excited. The first challenge starting in January is to make a dessert with Nutella. I surfed through tons of recipes and then decided I wanted to try and create something original. For this reason, I didn't google Nutella, Smore or Cupcake together. I'm sure someone may have thought of it first but I'm living in my own dessert denial that I was the first to think of it.

The bottom of the cupcake, much like a true campfire smore, is made from graham crackers. Specifically 1 cup of honey graham crackers and 1/4 Cup of melted unsalted butter, combined and then pressed into the bottom of the cupcake liner. I'm sure it would be just as delicious with cinnamon or chocolate graham crackers.
The "cake" part of the cupcake is almost pure Nutella. I wanted the middle to taste like a melted Nutella candy bar. It's a very dense cake. 1 Cup of Nutella mixed with 2 eggs then combine with 3/4 Cup of all purpose flour. Spoon approx 1/4 Cup of batter into each cupcake liner. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes.

Then comes the fun part. Cut 6 large marshmallows in half. You'll need to toast the cut side until slightly melted so it sticks to the top of the cupcake and then toast the top of the marshmallow to your desired meltiness. I like my marshmallows really burnt. YUM! I used my creme brulee torch for this but you could always use a kabob stick and your stove.

I served these at a Game Night I hosted last night. Really yummy with the Nutella flavor a prominent part of the cupcake.
I had such fun with this project. Deciding what to create and then learning how to put together the ingredients so they baked well together. My biggest hurdle was the photography. I can't decide if I'm the problem or my camera is the problem; we don't have the best relationship but it's a work in progress. LOL
Would you like to enter Dessert Wars or try one of the awesome Nutella recipes?
Here's the link http://www.dessert-wars.com/2011/01/januarys-theme-go-nuts-using-nutella.html
There are some awesome prizes for the winner of the challenge and here are the sponsors:

-Whisk and cupcake necklace from Moon & Star Designs

-The Smartshopper Electronic Grocery List Organizer

-Beanilla Sampler Pack of Vanilla Beans

-Lenox Personalized Musical Cupcake

-1,000 ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies & Cakes

-Endless Vanilla and Cinnamon Extract

-Unlimited Layers: A Recipe for Turning Your Passion into Profits

-$50 Gift Certificate to Theme Kitchen

-$50 Coupon Redeemable for Organic Valley Products

-$50 Coupon Redeemable for Organic Prairie Products

Coconut & Pineapple Smoothie

Does anybody watch Brunch at Bobby's? It's Bobby Flay's new show on the cooking channel. I love it. He recently featured a coconut smoothie that looked delicious. Much to my surprise Trader Joe's has coconut water. I made my own variation of his smoothie.
1 Cup lowfat vanilla yogurt.
1 1/2 Cups Coconut Water
1 1/2 Cups frozen pineapple chunks
1 banana.
Blend and enjoy.

On another subject, I tried to make french macaroons last night. I had read that they could be very tricky to get just right and admittedly I went into making them a little too cocky. Cracked or without "feet" or too chewey- ugh so frustrating. I don't know if I'll be able to talk myself into trying again.
Have you ever made a failure recipe?

Mini Bundts Apple Sauce Cake with Candied Ginger

I saw this cake on one of the blogs I follow, Stacey's Snacks and since I had some leftover crystallized ginger in the pantry decided to try it. I'm glad I did. It's delicious. So delicious, that I convinced myself I could call it bread and have it for breakfast the next morning.
Here is the link for the recipe http://www.staceysnacksonline.com/2011/01/applesauce-cake-w-candied-ginger.html

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Trader Joe's has butternut squash ravioli! This is a recent discovery for me and a very happy one. It's really yummy. I made the traditional brown butter and sage sauce to go with it. I also topped it with toasted walnuts and Parmesan cheese. Not the lightest of meals but it was too delicious for me to care about the calories.

Any recent Trader Joe's discoveries to share?

Yummy Tomatoes & Spaghetti with Olives and Bread Crumbs

Tomatoes are my all-time favorite fruit? vegetable? I'm fortunate to live in California where you can find good tomatoes pretty much all year round. I paired a tomato salad (grape tomatoes, olive oil, shredded fontina cheese, oregano, garlic, salt & pepper) with one of Giada's recipes. I made her Spaghetti with Olives & Bread Crumbs. I was disappointed with the dish. The biggest problem was the texture. Although the flavor was fine, especially since I really like olives.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/everyday-italian/spaghetti-with-olives-and-bread-crumbs-recipe/index.html

Roast Beef Panini and Sweet Potato Fries

I love my Le Creuset Grill Pan. It makes perfect paninis. My most recent panini is roast beef, fontina cheese and caramelized onions. I used a little too much oil for the onions which upped the grease factor, but other than that it was delicious. Almost like a french dip. Anybody have a recipe for the au jus?
On the side I baked some sweet potato fries from Trader Joes. You can find them in the freezer section. I like to serve the fries with either ketchup or apricot preserves.

What is your favorite panini? I'm in need of some new ideas to use my pan.