Stracciatella Semifreddo (don't ask me how to say this)

This is another winner from Giada de Laurentiis (of the Food Network). If you've got a liking for Nutella, then this is one you should definitely try. It's a custard, so it takes a bit of time and patience. And I warn you... it's VERY rich!

Ingredients

Crust:
• Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 3 (5 inches long by 3/4-inch wide) plain or almond biscotti (about 4 ounces) halved
• 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, see Cook's Note
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
• 8 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3/4 cup chocolate-hazelnut spread at room temperature (recommended: Nutella)

Directions
Special equipment: a 3 by 15-inch piece of parchment paper, a 7 1/2 by 12-inch piece of parchment paper

For the crust: Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 by 5 by 3-inch nonstick loaf pan with vegetable oil cooking spray. Using 2 pieces of parchment paper, line the pan, allowing the excess to hang over the ends and sides.
In a food processor, blend the biscotti and hazelnuts together until finely ground. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are moistened. Using a flexible spatula, press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until the edges of the crust are golden. Cool the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes.

For the filling: In a medium stainless steel or glass bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, 1/2 cup sugar, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Put the bowl over a pan of simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Whisk until the egg mixture is pale, thick and creamy, and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F, about 10 to 15 minutes. Put the bowl into a larger bowl of iced water to cool completely.

In another medium bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the cream until thick. Add the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until the cream holds stiff peaks. Mix 1/4 of the cream into the cooled custard. Using a spatula, gently fold the remaining cream into the custard. Drop spoonfuls of the chocolate-hazelnut spread over the custard mixture and gently fold until just incorporated but still chunky. Spoon the mixture onto the prepared crust. Fold the overhanging parchment paper over the custard and freeze for at least 8 hours or up to 3 days (3 days? Umm... I don't think so. Too delicious.).

Run a thin-bladed spatula around the semifreddo between the parchment paper and the pan. Unfold the parchment paper and invert the semifreddo onto a platter. Peel off the paper and cut into 1-inch thick slices. Serve on chilled plates.

Cook's Note: To toast the hazelnuts, arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 8 to 10 minutes until lightly toasted. Cool completely before using.

Spinach Salad with Dijon Dressing

This just may be my new favorite salad... and the dressing is amazingly easy and doesn't have any oil. Woot!

baby spinach
grilled chicken (mine was just seasoned with a little season salt and garlic powder, but you could get fancy with a marinade of some sort)
chopped green onion
sliced almonds (thought about toasting but got too lazy)
sliced avocado (the best part of any salad in my opinion)
chopped apples or grapes

dressing: (okay, so I don't really measure any of this... I just sort of add to taste)
1 Tbl dijon mustard
2 Tbl white wine vinegar
1 Tbl honey
dash salt/pepper

Whisk it up and pour over salad. You could chill the flavor out a bit by adding some olive or canola oil to it, but what's the point. The dressing is delicious without the oil, and you don't need to use as much of it. :)

Tri-tip sandwiches

Another man-pleasin' meal. Although this is about the only shredded beef (or any beef) sandwich I truly think is delicious! Sooo simple. 

tri-tip roast (triangle roast, sirloin roast)*
Lawry's auj jus seasoning packet
water

For every ~2 lbs of roast add 1 packet of auj jus and 2 cups water to crock pot.
Cook on high for ~6 hours or low ~8-10 hours.
Take beef out, shred. Meat should fall apart easily with a fork.
Ladle off extra fat from liquid (or use gravy separator). Use liquid for dipping.

Eat with kaiser rolls, avocado slices, tomato, lettuce, provolone cheese (or any combination).

*I have no idea what kind of roast I've purchased in the past. Sometimes I find sirloin, sometimes I don't. You want to make sure the meat is well-marbled (fatty) to keep it moist & tasty. If there's a thick layer of fat on one side, just remove that before shredding. I spoon some juice onto the meat/bread as well as dip.

baked creamy chicken taquitos

I made this recipe from Our Best Bites for dinner tonight ...

Delicious!  B-boy and I both thoroughly enjoyed. I'm putting this one in the repeat-offenders rotation, for sure.

We just ate them with fresh salsa and sour cream. I used neufchatel cheese (1/3 less fat cream cheese) and it worked fantastically. I'm also quite sure you could play around with the ingredients to your taste. Ours were a little spicy because we're spicy people. :)

To make the chicken, I just browned & poached a few (2?) breasts for shredding.

I used fajita-sized flour tortillas (because I think corn tortillas are nasty).

It made 12 taquitos, although you could certainly get away with adding less stuffing to create more than 12 (but I doubt more than 15-16).

Get to work on this one.