Week 7: Buffalo Chicken Wraps--a restaurant favorite brought home

This is one of my favorites to order at Buffalo Wild Wings and other restaurants. I found the original recipe in the Kraft Foods magazine, but true to form I adjusted the recipe even as I made it the first time. So now I consider it mine!!

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

8 frozen breaded Chicken breast strips
1/4 C. low-fat or fat-free Mayonnaise
2 Tbs. Hot Pepper Sauce
2 C. Spinach leaves
4 large flour Tortillas
1 large Tomato, chopped
1 C. shredded Cheddar Cheese

Prepare chicken breasts according to package directions. Meanwhile mix mayonnaise and hot sauce. If you don't want it too spicy, start with 1/2 Tbs. of hot sauce and taste as you add more.

When chicken is done, place spinach leaves down center of the tortillas. Top with chicken, then tomatoes and then cheese. Drizzle with mayo mixture and roll up. Secure with toothpicks if necessary.

Week 6: FoodTV's Potato-Bacon Torte

This sounded so wonderful when I saw it on TV that I suggested to Kate that we try it. After all, any recipe that has cheese and bacon is worth trying!!

Potato-Bacon Torte

2 Pie Crusts, recipe follows

4 strips bacon
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2/3 C. heavy cream
3 medium baking potatoes, peeled
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 C. grated Gruyere cheese
1 egg yolk, whisked with a splash of water

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare the pie crusts, recipe follows.

In a skillet over medium heat, cook the bacon until just crispy. Drain on paper towel lined plate and set aside. Crumble the bacon when cool to the touch.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat the thyme and cream over low heat to a bare simmer. Turn off the heat and let steep for about 5 minutes. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Remove the pie pan from the refrigerator. Slice the potatoes in half lengthwise and then finely slice the potatoes. Working in circles, arrange the potato slices in the pie crust, stopping to season each layer with salt, pepper, and about 1/4 of the crumbled bacon. Continue layering until the pie pan is nearly full. Top with an even layer of the cheese and gently pour cream around and over the entire pie, allowing it to seep down between the potato slices. (You may not use all the cream.)

Roll out the remaining disk of refrigerated dough. Cover the pie with the dough and crimp the edges closed. Brush the top and edges of the crust with egg wash. Make a few slits in the center of the top crust, for the steam to escape, and put the pie pan on a baking sheet. Bake the torte until the crust is browned and crispy and the potatoes are cooked through, about 50 to 60 minutes. If the crust edges get too brown, cover them with some strips of aluminum foil. Remove the pie from the oven and let rest at least 15 minutes before cutting into wedges and serving.

2 Pie Crusts

1 C. butter, cubed and chilled
2.25 C. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
8 To 10 Tbs. ice water

Put the butter, flour, and salt in the food processor, and pulse lightly just until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the water, 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing briefly after each spoonful of water. Keep adding water until the dough just begins to gather into larger clumps.

Transfer equal amounts of the dough into 2 re-sealable plastic bags and pat each into a disk. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Remove 1 of the disks from the bag to a flour coated surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out to a 10-inch round. Gently fit the rolled dough into a 9-inch pie pan, and refrigerate while you prepare the torte ingredients.