Cilantro Lime Dressing

I was inspired to make this from a dressing I had at John Harvard's Brew House. I used it over a tossed salad of mixed greens, corn, tomoato, red onion, and grilled chicken with a southwestern rub. Would also make a nice citrus-y marinade with a bite.

2 garlic cloves
juice of 2 limes
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 packed tablespoon cilantro
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teapsoon salt
2 teapsoons extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp light mayo

Place garlic cloves in food processor and pulse until minced very finely. Add in lime juice, vinegar cilantro, cumin, sugar, salt and oil. Process until well blended. Add in mayo and continue to process until blended completely.

Yields about 1 cup.

WW info: 1 point per 2 Tbsp.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

My favorite spread.

1 garlic clove
1 (15 oz.) can of chick peas
1 roasted red pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. tahini
2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Place the garlic clove in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add chick peas, red pepper, lemon juice, and tahini. Close food processor and turn on, slowly drizzling in the olive oil. Process until smooth.

Serve with celery sticks, carrot sticks, and/or pita wedges.

Yields 2 cups.

WW info: 2 points per 1/4 cup serving

Filet Mignon with Merlot Reduction

Holy stink! Boiling the wine made my house smell SOOOOOO bad! But the end result was delicious, so I won't complain too much. I made this for a friend's birthday dinner and it was really good. I've slightly adjusted the recipe below as I found the original to be way too salty. Another problem was that the steaks got cold after cooking them and setting them aside to use the pan again...so i added the "cover with foil" part. Next time I may grill the steaks and make the sauce seperately, that way everything is ready at the same time.

1 750-ml bottle Merlot
3 (14.5 oz) cans low-salt beef broth

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 6-ounce filet mignon steaks (each about 1 inch thick)
Freshly cracked pepper
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

Boil wine and beef broth in heavy large saucepan over high heat until mixture is reduced to 2 cups, about 1 hour. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Mix butter and flour in small bowl. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle steaks with salt and cracked pepper. Sauté steaks until medium-rare, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plate and cover with foil.

Add shallots, garlic and thyme to skillet; stir 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 cups reduced wine mixture to skillet (reserve remainder for another use). Bring mixture to boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add butter mixture and whisk until smooth. Boil sauce until thick enough to coat spoon, about 2 minutes. Serve steaks with sauce.

Yields 6 servings.