No cook dinner

I had a busy day today and decided to make it an easy no-cook dinner well I did roast garlic earlier in the day so I should say it was a minimal cook dinner.

I made wraps. I just recently did a post on wraps so if you are looking for some ideas to wrap-up check out my master list. Tonight's wrap was Chicken, Provolone, and Grilled Eggplant.


I also made a batch of my Italian Cream Cheese. I make a variation of this recipe for my Bruschetta which was my biggest cooking contest win to date. It ended up on the back of a cheese package (my 15 minutes). This time I smeared it on some celery. You can also smear it on cucumber slices, soy crisps, crackers and bread of course. For a party: fill a Ziploc bag with Italian Cream Cheese and snip the end to form a piping bag and fill hollowed out cherry tomatoes.


Shelly's Italian Cream Cheese

3-4 Basil Leaves, chopped
Contents of 1 roasted large head of Garlic
8 ounces Cream Cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan Cheese
Good Sicilian Olive Oil
sometimes I add:
1/4 cup toasted Walnuts (optional) or
1/4 cup chopped Artichoke Hearts (optional)

Mix chopped basil leaves, the contents of the head of one roasted garlic, cream cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, toasted walnuts (optional), artichoke hearts (optional). Blend thoroughly. Add olive oil a few drops at a time until creamy.


How to Roast Garlic: Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a muffin pan or garlic roaster. I love my garlic roaster. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head. Sprinkle with kosher salt. If you aren't using a garlic roaster: cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed.

Highlights of the day:

* My buddy and co-worker Sarah bought me the super cool plates (pictured above) as a reaching GOAL present. She rocks! Being in Southern California we eat outside a lot and so I love love love melamine plates. I've dropped many a porcelain plate and patio cement is unforgiving.

* My tomatoes are getting few and far between but my neighbor's plants are kicking in big time. She brought me 3 huge monsters today. So tomorrow I will make a Tomato & Onion Gratin.

* Been listening to a great mix of music for the past hour that has put me in a great mood. It's amazing the power of music. So thanks Barenaked Ladies, Dave Matthews Band (my fav) and now...

Listening to: "Upside Down" Jack Johnson