Spring Tortellini

This is a wonderful springtime dish! Patrick and I made this a few weeks ago when his mother was in town. This dish comes together super quick so we didn't have to worry about a lot of prep stuff while we were busy having a fun weekend. This utilizes lots of fresh, spring vegetables including asparagus. It's a great meatless meal too and since it's full of flavor you won't mind that it's vegetarian.

Tortellini with asparagus, peas, and mint From Mod Meals on Mendenhall 

Ingredients

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 medium cloves garlic, pressed or minced

1/8 tsp. cayenne

1 lb. fresh cheese tortellini

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed of tough, woody stems, and cut crosswise into 1/2" pieces

1 cup shelled fresh peas (or thawed frozen peas)

1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

2 oz. fresh goat cheese, softened

Salt and pepper

Directions
   In a 6-quart covered pot, bring 3 quarts well-salted water to a boil over high heat.

   In a large bowl, combine the olive oil, garlic, cayenne, and 1/2 tsp. salt.

   Cook the tortellini, asparagus, and peas in the boiling water until the tortellini is al dente, 2 to 3 minutes.

   Reserve 1 cup of the cooking water, then drain the pasta and vegetables and toss with the garlic-oil mixture. Add  the pine nuts, mint, and  goat cheese and stir until the cheese melts into a sauce, adding cooking water as needed to moisten the pasta. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper and serve.

Deconstructed spinach ravioli

I saw this recipe featured on PBS's "America's Test Kitchen". Immediately I knew it was something that we would want to try! It did not disappoint and will be a great addition to our vegetarian dishes. However I would make one small change to it. There is a seasoned ricotta to dollop the pasta as well as a ricotta-garlic sauce to coat the pasta. I found the dolloped ricotta to be a bit too much and I would recommend halving that amount. Feel free to keep it extra decadent though and use all the ricotta! This would be a great spring dish so hope you try it.

Deconstructed spinach ravioli Inspiration from America's Test Kitchen
Ingredients 
1 1/3 cup whole milk ricotta, divided
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, divided
salt and pepper
1 lb whole wheat fusilli pasta
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 cup half and half
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 lb spinach, chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions
   Whisk together 1 cup of the ricotta cheese with 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. (This is where I would only use 1/2 cup ricotta and then also 1/2 tbsp evoo.) Set aside; this ricotta will be dolloped on the pasta at the end.
   Meanwhile bring a pot of salted water to boiling. Cook pasta to al dente.
   While the pasta make the sauce. Warm 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a small sauce pot and add the garlic, nutmeg, and cayenne over medium heat. After garlic and seasonings are warm add remaining ricotta (1/3 cup) and the half and half. Stir together and then add the lemon zest and juice as well as 3/4 tsp salt.
   Reserve 1 cup pasta water. Before draining pasta add the chopped spinach to the pasta in the final 30 seconds so the spinach can quickly wilt. Then drain pasta and spinach. Return to pot and keep off the heat. Add the creamy garlic ricotta sauce and 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese. Toss to coat and let sit 2-4 minutes, tossing a few times, and adding reserved pasta water as needed to loosen sauce.
   Dollop with the fresh ricotta and serve immediately.

Turkey sliders and babaganoush hummus

It seems like every year around spring time I get a hankering for some turkey burgers (2014 2015). I guess spring came a little early this year, and along with it the turkey burgers! We still grill them indoors on our stove top, but dress them up differently depending on what we're in the mood for. This time we had avocado and caramelized onions with choice of BBQ sauce or dijon.

On the side we had some simple chopped vegetables, for which Whitney prepared a hummus mixture with roasted eggplant and yogurt, calling it a babaganoush hummus. I thought it was delicious and better than plain hummus, and went well with the veggies.

For the turkey sliders

   To prepare the sliders, mix salt, pepper, 1 egg, and Worcestershire sauce into 1 lb ground turkey. Fry in 2" rounds until browned on both sides and cooked throughout.

   Serve sliders on Hawaiian rolls with avocado, caramelized onions, and mozzarella slices. 

For the babaganoush hummus

   Slice 1 eggplant in 1/2" rounds. Drizzle olive oil on both sides of the eggplant and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Broil for 8-10 minutes; flipping half way through or until eggplant is golden on each side.

   In a food processor, combine the eggplant, 1/4 cup yogurt, and 1/2 regular hummus. Process until smooth and creamy.

   Serve with favorite veggies.

Black bean soup

Last month we had a Mexican potluck! Patrick and I contributed black beans and rice as well as a Mexican Chocolate pound cake. There were a lot of black beans after the potluck and no one wanted to take home some leftovers. Not to worry, I thought, these'll make a great black bean soup.

The leftover black beans were in a loose liquid so to turn them into soup I simply warmed them in a pot and took a potato masher to the beans. I tried to mash about a quarter of the beans so that they would thicken the soup. The originally black beans were very well seasoned so I didn't add anything extra for the soup. I primarily wanted to thicken it a bit.

This turned into a great weekend lunch. We toasted a slice of sourdough bread with cheddar cheese to have with the soup and a sliced apple rounded out the meal! We typically eat our leftovers as is so it was fun to turn them into a little something different (although this really wasn't that different).

Soba Noodle & Sweet Potato Soup

Patrick and I made this dish about a month ago at the beginning of the year when our bodies were wanting some fresh, clean foods and a palette cleanse after all of our holiday travels. This soba noodles and sweet potato soup hit just the spot on a cold evening! We were able to use sweet potatoes held over from our CSA. They're great to store in the pantry. Soba noodles are also something we typically keep in the pantry and homemade chicken stock is always in our freezer. After picking up the remaining vegetables on a weekly grocery store run we were able to make this without any trouble. With one small exception! The grocery store didn't have miso so I was forced to omit this.

Soba Noodles & Sweet Potato Soup inspiration from "A Clean Slate" cookbook
   Serves 4
Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp ginger, peeled and small dice
4 scallions, whites and greens separated and sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced with stems removed
1 sweet potato, peeled and 1/2" cubes
3 cups chicken stock
3 cups water
4 oz soba noodles
2 heads baby bok choy, sliced into 1/2" pieces
1/2 cup miso (we omitted)
1 tbsp fresh lime juice

Directions
   Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add ginger, scallion whites, and garlic; cook, stirring, until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 2 minutes more. Add sweet potato and toss to coat. Add the stock and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until sweet potatoes are tender, 6 to 8 minutes.
   Meanwhile, cook soba according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
   Add bok choy to sweet-potato mixture, and cook until leaves are just wilted and stems are crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in cooked noodles. Remove from heat.
   Remove 1 cup hot broth, and whisk in miso until smooth, then stir into soup. Add lime juice, and season with salt. Serve soup immediately topped with scallion greens.

Quiche Updates

It's no secret that Patrick and I turn to quiche for a brunch option. We typically reserve quiche for when we're having guests over because we can bake it the day before. Although we will sometimes make a quiche for a weekend brunch for just the two of us and enjoy the leftovers over the next couple of days.

Today we're updating the blog with some quiche thoughts. Over time we've altered the recipe a bit - primarily with the liquid because it overflows out of the pan a lot. And for the first time, with this quiche shared in this post, we used a homemade pie crust that we had frozen. I'll include all of our tried and true tips for quiche making at the end of the post!

One reason I love keeping quiche in the brunch rotation is because the filling options are limitless! We've made ham and caramelized onions, sundried tomatoes and spinach, butternut squash and caramelized onions, ham and cheese, leek and sun-dried tomatoes, only cheese, and most recently spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese. Below is our updated information for making quiche!

Spinach, mushroom, and goat cheese quiche in a homemade crust

Quiche

Make the crust
   We're still loving the Martha Stewart Classic Pie Crust that is made with butter, flour, a bit of sugar and salt, and some water. Here's the recipe:

   In a food processor pulse together
      1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
      1/2 tsp salt
      1/2 tsp sugar
   Then add 1 stick butter (cold, unsalted and cut into pieces) and continue to pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, with just a few pea-size pieces remaining.
   Sprinkle with 2 tbsp ice water and pulse until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed with fingers. If needed add up to 2 tbsp more ice water, 1 tbsp at a time. I usually find that I need the additional water.
   Turn dough out onto a work sugar and form into a 3/4" disk. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate until firm. Martha recommends an hour but I don't always do that.
   After the dough has been chilled, flour your work surface and place the disk here. Roll dough to a 14" round. Gently place over the pie plate. Trim overhang to 1" and fold under to form a uniform edge around the rim. Refrigerate for an hour.
   We usually always blind bake a crust now. To do so place pie weights (or dried beans) into the crust and bake in a 350F preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until slightly golden. This prevents the dough from becoming too soggy. The crust is now ready for filling!

As mentioned in the introduction we've had success with freezing this crust. In December when I was making a quiche I made two crust and froze the second one. Two days before making this quiche I removed the crust from the freezer and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Rolling it out and eating it seemed just like a freshly made crust! From now on I think I'll be making two crusts every time I need one.

Assemble the filling
   After the crust has been made and blind baked we assemble the filling. We find it easier to layer the filling on the bottom of the pie before pouring the egg mixture over it. This ensures that the filling is evenly distributed throughout the quiche. After spreading the vegetables and protein we sprinkle cheese over top. If a vegetable contains a lot of moisture like mushrooms we like to saute those first before layering on the crust. Sometimes we'll also place cheese under the vegetables / protein.

Prepare the custard
   Finally we top the quiche filling with this egg custard from a local cookbook.

   Combine and whisk together: 4 eggs, 1 cup dairy* (may use milk or half & half or a combination), dash of salt and pepper. Other seasonings as they complement the filling.
*The original recipe calls for 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup half & half. We've reduced the dairy to 1 cup to prevent the custard from overflowing the pie crust. Our pie pans are not deep dish and I imagine this is not necessary for deep dish shells.
   Pour over filling. To prevent making a mess place the pie pan on a baking sheet to help move the quiche to and from the oven. The last quiche we made had a little bit of overflow that was baked on to the pan (and fortunately not dripping in the oven). Patrick suggests placing the quiche on the extended oven rack, pouring in the custard, and pushing the rack back into the oven but when I tried this the movement of pushing the oven rack in caused the custard to splash out. Just some extra info!

Bake the quiche
   Bake the quiche in a preheated 375F oven for 45 minutes or until firm and brown. Allow quiche to set up for at least 30 minutes. Enjoy!

Ricotta pizza with balsamic roasted tomatoes

Despite having made so many great pizza variations over the years, Whitney continues to find new recipes for us to try. I'm not complaining though. Pizza is delicious. This time around we used a store-bought dough so it came together pretty quickly, even with the time it took to roast the tomatoes. The roasted tomatoes and ricotta gave this a subtly different flavor profile than your typical cheese pizza, and it was (as always) delicious.

Ricotta pizza with balsamic roasted tomatoes inspiration from Martha Stewart
Ingredients
1 cup whole-milk ricotta
1 cup grated Parmesan (4 ounces)
Salt and pepper
1 lb pizza dough, thawed if frozen
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, for serving

Directions
   Preheat oven to 500 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Combine ricotta and Parmesan, and season with salt and pepper. On a baking sheet, drizzle pizza dough with 2 tablespoons oil and stretch or roll into a 16-inch-long oval. Spread ricotta mixture on dough, leaving a 1-inch border.
   On a rimmed baking sheet, toss cherry tomatoes with remaining 2 tablespoons oil, 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, and season with salt and pepper. Bake cherry tomatoes on bottom rack and pizza on top rack until tomatoes are soft and skins have burst, 15 minutes. Remove tomatoes and bake pizza until crust is deep golden brown, about 8 minutes more. Crush cherry tomatoes with a masher; season with salt and pepper. Transfer pizza to a cutting board and top with tomato mixture and oregano.

Kale salad with beets and oranges

I whipped up this kale salad the weekend before Christmas. We were at home then and taking it easy in preparation of holiday travels that were to come. The weekend before that we had hosted two parties with decadent holiday hors d'oeuvres and desserts. We knew we were in a "reset" period where we needed to cleanse our palettes and focus on whole, plant-based foods. This kale salad with beets and oranges hit just the spot!

When we're home for a weekend and don't have any plans I typically meal plan for a brunch and dinner with the intention of fending for ourselves for lunch and figure it out day-of. Sometimes this might be leftovers or finding something snack-y in the pantry. Other times it might mean an impromptu lunch date while we're out running errands. On this particular Saturday there were some basketball games playing that we were interested in so it was in our best interest to stay lounging on the couch and find something in the refrigerator and pantry that would suits our needs.

This kale salad came together quite easily! The kale had been ordered in our CSA box. I had canned beets the night before and one can didn't seal properly. If this happens you can put the jar into the refrigerator and consume it within a week or two. Fresh oranges had been delivered that week from a local fundraiser we supported. The cottage cheese was leftover from this baked mac-n-cheese we had made in the previous week. The cheddar cheese is typically something we have the fridge. And we try to keep almonds as a pantry staple!

Kale Salad with Beets & Oranges
   Prepare the kale - wash about 8 kale leaves and remove leafy kale greens from stem by tearing in small chunks. Place greens into a medium bowl and drizzle with 1-2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and a dash of salt. "Massage" the kale by tossing it with the evoo and rubbing it together. Do this for about 1-2 minutes. This massaging technique breaks down the tough fibrous kale. Divide the kale into salad bowls.
   Top the salad - Drizzle the kale greens with a few splashes of white balsamic vinegar (or whatever you have on hand). Peel and section 1 orange and split between the salad bowls. Add some pickled beets and a dollop of cottage cheese to each salad. Top with a tbsp of almonds and some shredded cheddar cheese.

The beauty of a fridge / pantry salad is that it can be customized to not only what's in your fridge and/or pantry but also to your individual tastes. Before I assembled the salads I told Patrick what I was going to put on mine (as I just described it) and asked him if he wanted it that way too. I was prepared to omit any ingredients he didn't want on it. He succumbed to eating his fruits and veggies and said I could make it like mine.

Lemon risotto and new saute pan

We love all of our cookware, but since the time we got it about two years ago, one pan has stood out from the rest in terms of utility and frequency of use: our large nonstick deep saute pan.

For almost any dish that requires a saute we use this pan. The size accommodates our medium to large meals (we love having leftovers), the high sides keep us from making a mess and let us toss a pasta dish together, and it's bakeable, which comes in handy every now and then (e.g. fake bake or baked mac and cheese). Unfortunately, due to constant use and maybe some occasional overheating, the nonstick coating was starting to fail in the center of the pan. With the difficulty of washing it and concern about consuming the nonstick coating, we decided to seek out a replacement.

We found that replacement in a Le Creuset deep saute pan! We had been eyeing this pan online, and then Whitney was lucky to get a great deal on a floor model that had been on clearance in our local Williams-Sonoma. We were super excited! We've enjoyed our other Le Creuset cast iron enamel pieces. The enamel comes clean easily and hasn't showed any signs of accumulated wear. The one downside is that it's super heavy, but it's worth it to have a pan we love that will hopefully last forever. We've also decided that it makes sense to store it on the top since it is so heavy and we use it so much!

After we got the pan we used it for nearly five days straight, which only shows how much use we get out of our deep saute pans:
   Thursday - lemon risotto
   Saturday - warm lentil salad
   Sunday - sauteed apples for brunch
   Monday - kale and ricotta pasta bake
   Tuesday - asian pork with soba noodles and cabbage

It was a joy to use each time. Today we'll feature the lemon risotto recipe, which was a new risotto style for us. I probably wouldn't rank it above my favorite lemon spaghetti or some of our other risotto preparations, but it was still quite good.

Lemon Risotto inspiration from 101 Cookbooks
   Serves 4
Ingredients
3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 shallots, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp fine-grain sea salt
2 cups lightly pearled barley or pearled farro - we subbed arborio rice
1 cup good quality dry white wine
6 cups light vegetable stock (or water) - we used chicken stock
Grated zest of 4 lemons
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup crème fraiche (or sour cream) - we used sour cream
3 big handfuls of greens, chopped - we used arugula
Handful of toasted pine nuts, for garnish - we omitted

Directions
   Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat, then add the onions, shallots, garlic, and salt and saute, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
   Add the barley to the pot and stir until coated with a nice sheen, then add the white wine and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, until the barley has absorbed the liquid a bit. Adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, active simmer.
   In increments, add about 6 cups of water or stock, 1 cup at a time, letting the barley absorb most of the liquid between additions; this should take around 40 minutes altogether. Stir regularly so the grains on the bottom of the pan don't scorch. You will know when the barley is cooked because it won't offer up much resistance when chewing (it will, however, be chewier than Arborio rice).
   When the barley is tender remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lemon zest, Parmesan, and crème fraiche. Taste and adjust - add more salt if needed, more lemon zest. Then stir in the greens. Garnish with toasted pine nuts and a dusting of extra Parmesan before serving.

Cornmeal fried tilapia and marinated bean salad

Everything in this dish of substance came from the freezer! It was a great meal to pull together rather quickly. I actually prepared this on a night we had a show at DPAC that started at 7:30pm. I worked on prepping and fixing the marinated bean salad before moving on to the fish. The tilapia filets fried up quickly and the two recipes made for a complete dish.

Marinated bean salad by Martha Stewart

   Serves 10; we halved

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh green beans, ends snapped

Salt and pepper

1 pound butter beans, or small fresh or frozen lima beans

1/4 cup tarragon or white-wine vinegar we used white wine vinegar

3 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 shallot, minced

3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

2 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon, plus more for garnish we omitted and substituted an herb spice blend

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish see above

Directions

   Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook green beans in boiling salted water, just until bright green and tender, about 5 minutes. Reserving the cooking liquid, remove beans with a large slotted spoon; transfer to ice-water bath to stop the cooking. Transfer beans to a colander. Cook butter beans in the boiling cooking liquid, just until tender, 5 minutes if frozen. Strain; place under cold, running water to stop cooking. Set aside. We used frozen green beans and butter beans so cooked them both at the same time.

   Make vinaigrette: In a medium bowl, combine vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper to taste, and minced shallot. Whisk in olive oil until vinaigrette is creamy. Whisk in tarragon and parsley.

In a large bowl, toss green beans until well coated with about three-quarters of the vinaigrette. In a large bowl or on a platter, arrange the green beans in an even layer. Sprinkle the reserved butter beans over the top. Drizzle the remaining vinaigrette over the beans. Garnish with tarragon and parsley. Serve at room temperature.

For the tilapia
   We set up a breading station to fry two tilapia filets. The first bowl was flour with a bit of salt and pepper, then a egg beaten with a tablespoon or two of water, and finally cornmeal. The fish was fried in a pan with hot oil for 3-4 minutes on each side.

Cheese ravioli

Well it looks like Mother Nature was waiting for the calendar to turn to a new month before rolling out a new weather pattern! Our Thanksgiving was unseasonable warm and now it seems like we're back on track weather-wise for this time of year.

Even though we had a few cold streaks throughout fall it's been mostly warm and moderate. This means our CSA farm box was able to offer summer produce for a little longer than usual. You may remember that a few weeks ago we were able to get yellow squash and made this squash and fontina casserole. That left some fontina cheese hanging out in the refrigerator.

When Patrick and I decided the following weekend that ravioli would be delightful I rummaged through the refrigerator to see what would go well into our filling. The fontina won the filling contest and went into our cheese ravioli. We've made cheese ravioli before so I was loosely basing it off that. This was one of our best raviolis to date! We finally feel like we're over the learning curve hump and can make a good product that doesn't bust while cooking, the pasta is the right consistency, and everything turns out well.

We served our cheese ravioli on a bed of arugula with roasted cherry tomatoes and garlic then finished with a balsamic glaze.

Apparently the was the fontina that just keeps giving! There was some cheese filling leftover from the ravioli so I put it on toast and made egg-in-the-holes the next day for breakfast.

Grandma Pizza

When it comes to your basic tomato and cheese pizza, there's still plenty of room for variety - crust style, amount and type of cheese, tomato sauce vs. chopped tomatoes, and seasonings. Whitney picked out this Cook's Country recipe that makes a tasty thin-crust pizza with chopped tomatoes and mozzarella. I've made a few different pizza crust recipes before and found this one easy to make and work with, and it came out of the oven perfectly crisp. Given the time to make it I would probably still prefer my Chicago pizza imitation, but we really enjoyed this one.

Cook's Country Grandma Pizza
   Serves 4
Ingredients
   For the dough
3 tbsp olive oil
3/4 C water
1 1/2 C bread flour
2 1/4 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
   For the topping
1(28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp salt
8 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
1/4 C grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp chopped fresh basil

Directions
   Coat rimmed baking sheet with 2 tablespoons oil. Combine water and remaining 1 tablespoon oil in 1-cup liquid measuring cup. Using stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, yeast, sugar, and salt on low speed until combined. With mixer running, slowly add water mixture and mix until dough comes together, about 1 minute. Increase speed to medium-low and mix until dough is smooth and comes away from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes.
   Transfer dough to greased baking sheet and turn to coat. Stretch dough to 10 by 6-inch rectangle. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1½ hours. Stretch dough to corners of pan, cover loosely with plastic, and let rise in warm place until slightly puffed, about 45 minutes. (If the dough snaps back when you press it to the corners of the baking sheet, cover it, let it rest for 10 minutes, and try again.) Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 500 degrees.
   Place tomatoes in colander and drain well. Combine drained tomatoes, oil, garlic, oregano, and salt in bowl. Combine mozzarella and Parmesan in second bowl. Sprinkle cheese mixture over dough, leaving ½-inch border around edges. Top with tomato mixture and bake until well browned and bubbling, about 15 minutes. Slide pizza onto wire rack, sprinkle with basil, and let cool for 5 minutes. Serve.

Squash and Fontina Casserole

The Arts & Living section of the Sunday News & Observer features a recipe each week. On this particular week I mentioned to Whitney that the featured squash and fontina casserole looked pretty good. Given that it was also a Vivian Howard (star of "A Chef's Life") recipe and we were somehow still getting summer squash from our CSA, it inevitably ended up on the meal plan the following week.

The only way I really like summer squash is when it is cooked long enough to release some of its water and start caramelizing. This recipe does just that and then bakes the squash with some herbs, cheese, and garlic, making for a delicious casserole (although I think the squash itself would be almost as good). Check out the link below for a little blurb from the N&O about the recipe. We served it with salmon and green beans.

Vivian Howard's Squash and Fontina Casserole
   Serves 10-12 (we halved)
Ingredients
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp cornmeal
2 tbsp bacon fat (we used evoo)
4 medium yellow onion halved and sliced thin, about 4 cups
2 tbsp minced garlic
8-10 medium yellow squash or zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch rounds or half moons
3 tsp finely chopped fresh sage or 1 1/2 tsp dried sage (we used dried sage)
1 tsp finely chopped rosemary
3 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 C grated Fontina, Swiss or white American cheese (we used Fontina)
1 large egg

Directions
   Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch-by-8-inch casserole dish and dust the inside of the dish with cornmeal. Alternately, you could use six (6-ounce) ramekins and make individual casseroles.
   Heat bacon fat over medium heat in a 12-inch saute pan or cast iron skillet. Add onions and garlic and cook until onions are translucent. Add the squash, sage, rosemary, salt and black pepper. Stir it all to combine and cook over medium-high heat for about 25 minutes, checking periodically to make sure things aren’t sticking. You are looking for the squash to release all its liquid and begin to brown. Remove pan from the heat. While things are still steamy, stir in cheese. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Then stir in the egg.
   Fill whatever vessel you choose three-fourths of the way with the squash mixture. Bake uncovered for 30 to 45 minutes for the large casserole, or 15 to 20 minutes for the small ones. Either way you’re looking for it to brown on top and around the edges. Serve warm.

This particular meal came together easily as we were able to just
shove everything in the oven at the same time

Pork tenderloin, acorn squash, and poached pears

A few weeks ago I was hankering to get out our China and have a fancy dinner. It seemed appropriate to do this a few weeks after we got back from our California vacation. Patrick had been working really hard since then to get caught up with his work tasks and for some reason there was a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge. This provided us with just the relaxing night we needed!

I planned the meal backwards - dessert first and then molding the dinner around CSA produce. Poached pears had caught my eye recently and I thought they would be fun to try for the dessert! The recipe I found served them with a mascarpone cream. The entree featured a succulent pork tenderloin with a melt in your mouth sauce, roasted acorn squash wedges, and an arugula side salad. This was worth the effort! Everything was wonderful... except I don't think Patrick was too excited about the idea of just pears as the dessert.

Pork Tenderloin with apricot and fennel ragout from Martha Stewart

   Serves 4 (we cut in half)

Ingredients

3 tbsp grainy mustard

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Two 12-ounce pork tenderloins, tied with twine

1/2 C breadcrumbs

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp unsalted butter

4 large (or 8 medium) shallots, ends trimmed, peeled, and quartered

1 small fennel bulb, greens trimmed, cut into thin slices

1 1/2 cups homemade or low-sodium canned chicken stock

12 dried apricots

1/4 cup cognac (we substituted brandy)

1 tsp fresh thyme, plus more for garnish

Directions

   Heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine mustards. Salt and pepper the pork; rub with mustards; sprinkle with breadcrumbs. Pat coating. Set aside.

   Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. Sear pork, turning, until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from pan; set aside. Add remaining oil and butter to pan. Add shallots and fennel. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Add 1/2 cup stock; cook until liquid evaporates, 1 to 2 minutes.

   Return pork to pan; add apricots, 1/2 cup stock, and cognac. Roast in oven, stirring vegetables, until pork registers 160 degrees, about 20 minutes. Transfer pork to a cutting board; place pan over medium-low heat. Add remaining stock and thyme; stir, loosening brown bits from bottom. Simmer 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; slice pork. Serve with vegetables and sauce. Garnish with thyme.

Roasted Squash Wedges

   Serves 4 (we cut in half)

Ingredients

2 acorn squash

2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

Directions

   Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut squash in half through the stem end, and remove seeds. Cut each half into three wedges, 1 1/2 to 2 inches thick. Place wedges in a large roasting pan.

   In a small bowl, combine melted butter, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and pepper. Toss squash with honey mixture. Roast squash, turning occasionally, until tender and golden brown, 35 to 45 minutes.

Poached Pears

   Serves 4 (we cut in half)

Ingredients

2 firm but ripe large Bosc pears, peeled, halved, cored

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 C water

1/2 C dry white wine

6 tbsp honey

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise

1/2 C mascarpone cheese

2 tsp sugar

2 tsp brandy or dark rum

Directions

   Toss pears with lemon juice in large bowl. Set aside. Combine 1 cup water, wine and honey in medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean. Stir over medium heat until honey dissolves. Add pears. Cover mixture with round piece of parchment paper. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer until pears are just tender when pierced, turning when half-way through cooking, about 15 minutes.

   Using slotted spoon, transfer pears to large bowl. Boil poaching liquid until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Cool syrup. Pour syrup over pears. Cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove vanilla bean.

   Whisk mascarpone cheese, sugar and brandy in large bowl until smooth. Add 1/4 cup chilled poaching syrup and whisk until soft peaks form.

   Thinly slice each pear half lengthwise, leaving slices attached at stem end. Using metal spatula, transfer pears to plates. Gently press on pears to fan slightly. Spoon some syrup over pears. Spoon mascarpone cream alongside each pear half and serve.

Southwestern Stuffed Squash

Today we're sharing what seems to be only our third experiment with spaghetti squash. Patrick would probably avoid this squash like the plague but, unfortunately for him, I submit our CSA order each week and like to get one once a year. We've tried spaghetti squash with maple and shallots and spaghetti squash with a spicy meat sauce. With this Southwestern stuffed squash recipe I've finally hit a winner! It caught my eye on some form of social media and I thought it seemed worthy of our meal plan. After asking if he approved of this dish, he said "well, yeah, but anything's good if you put cheese and sour cream on it."

So disguise the healthy and call it a win! I particularly enjoyed assembling everything because it came together quickly. While the squash roasts you can prepare the filling so as soon as the squash is out of the oven and the "spaghetti" has been shredded you can combine everything back together and put it under the broiler. Then while the cheese is melting you can wash your saute pan and prep a side salad.

Southwestern Stuffed Squash inspiration from Whole Foods

Ingredients
1 medium spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 C chopped red onion
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
1/2 C red bell pepper, chopped
1 C cooked black beans
1 tsp Mexican blend spice mix
1 tbsp lime juice
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 C cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions
   Preheat the oven to 375°F. Arrange squash cut side down in a large baking dish and pour 1/2 cup water into the dish and bake until just tender, 30 to 35 minutes. Rake with a fork to remove flesh in strands, leaving the shell intact for stuffing.
   While the squash is roasting prepare the filling. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño and bell pepper and cook for 2 minutes or until soft. Add beans and spices; cook, stirring frequently, 1 minute longer. Add cooked squash, lime juice and salt, cook 1 minute until heated through.
   Fill squash halves with filling, mounding mixture in the center. Top with shredded cheese and place under the broiler until cheese has melted.
   Serve with avocado and sour cream. For an extra kick add pickled jalapenos (Patrick's preference).

String bean and arugula pasta

String beans in November?! I couldn't believe it when we were making this dish just a few weeks ago. We even ordered green beans in our CSA last week so I guess they're still going strong while it's still warm. Green beans are one of the few vegetables that Patrick says he can "tolerate" so I try to get them every few weeks from the CSA. However this lends itself to overuse of said vegetable. With that in mind I set off to browsing the Internet with hopes of finding a delicious new recipe for green beans. And I did exactly that with this string bean and arugula pasta! Patrick and I both commented that it far exceeded expectations and we will definitely be making this again.

String Bean and Arugula Pasta from Martha Stewart

   Serves 8 - we cut in half
Ingredients
4 oz green beans, trimmed
4 oz yellow wax beans, trimmed (we used all wax beans)
1 lb curved, dried pasta, such as orecchiette or other medium curved shapes
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/4 c fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
Salt and pepper
1/2 c extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (substituted with sliced almonds)
1 1/2 oz Parmesan cheese, shredded
1 1/2 c baby arugula

Directions
   Prepare an ice-water bath. Cook green and wax beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender, about 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beans to ice-water bath until cool, reserving water in pot. Drain beans, and cut into 2-inch-long pieces.
   Add pasta to the reserved boiling water, and cook until al dente. Drain and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Transfer chilled pasta to a large serving dish.
   Whisk lemon zest and juice and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Season with pepper. Add oil in a slow, steady stream, whisking until emulsified. Drizzle over pasta, and toss until well coated.
   Add beans, pine nuts, and grated Parmesan. Toss until evenly distributed. Just before serving, fold in arugula, and top with shaved Parmesan.

Caprese sandwich and wilted spinach-squash side

Patrick requested caprese melts the other weekend. Sometimes I'll ask him for meal plan requests and he pulls out the strangest requests but I'm always happy to oblige him! This is a good example of that as I'm not sure we've ever done caprese melts before! Oh! And now I remember what else was so strange about this request ... we have a white board on the refrigerator where I'll write the weekly meal plan so when it was a blank slate I asked him to put in something he would like. I turn back around and see that he's written caprese melts with roasted red pepper and garlic aioli. Silly Patrick, does he think I'm running a gourmet cafe in our kitchen?! I knew caprese melts were definitely do-able but if he wanted garlic aioli he would have to tackle that.

This caprese melt is more of a throw together. I originally thought I'd make it into a panini but then we were making this on a Sunday evening after his orchestra rehearsal and I was too tired for all that fancy stuff. So the mozzarella was toasted on the baguette and then basil, balsamic vinegar, and tomatoes were added to the baguette!

Served with a side of steamed squash and wilted spinach.

Pumpkin ravioli

Patrick and I fixed up this simple pumpkin ravioli a few weeks ago. Even though it's September and all things are officially now pumpkin this ravioli was made with a bag of frozen pumpkin. I thought it would be best to work on using up things in our freezer before they would get replenished. We don't use a whole lot of pumpkin but I do really enjoy breaking down the pie pumpkins in the fall, roasting them, and then pureeing them to have on hand for pumpkin things. And this pumpkin ravioli is a pumpkin thing!

We whipped up this ravioli with pantry things on hand and it turned out really well (which means we didn't have any ricotta and needed to find good substitutions)! Read on to see what we did.

Pumpkin Ravioli

   To make the pumpkin filling combine 2 cups plain pumpkin puree with 1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, 1/4 cup breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste. 

   Meanwhile prepare pasta dough (2 eggs combined with 200 grams flour in the food processor) and roll through a pasta press. Using a ravioli maker lay out the pasta and fill with pumpkin filling. Top with another pasta sheet and press out of the ravioli molds. 

   Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook ravioli until it floats (just a few minutes). 

   Serve the pumpkin ravioli with arugula. Top with Parmesan cheese and a good balsamic vinegar. 

It's Always Caturday

Nacho wanted to help pick out a new recipe to try from the cookbooks

Grilled Japanese eggplant with ricotta

I haven't been watching as much TV lately and that includes daytime television and The Chew. Patrick and I have been staying busy around the house and checking things off the to-do list plus we're realizing there's just so many other fun things to do besides watching TV like reading books! Well the DVR has still been recording The Chew which is one of my favorite shows. So the other afternoon I sat down in an effort to buzz through some of the 30+ episodes that had been recorded. And boy am I glad I did! This Japanese eggplant dish jumped out at me and I knew I wanted to try it immediately. Off I ventured to the farmers market and found these beautiful eggplants.

Also purchased at the market were fresh tomatoes and an onion for the sauce and a bunch of fresh basil for the dish. This dish comes together remarkably fast. The tomato sauce doesn't simmer a long time and the eggplants take no time to grill. I served this dish with a whole wheat pasta so it would make a filling entree for us. I definitely plan to make again!

Grilled Japanese Eggplant with Fresh Tomato Sauce from ABC's The Chew & Clinton Kelly

   Serves 4-6 | Time 30-45 minutes

Ingredients

  For the grilled eggplant

3 Japanese eggplants, sliced in half lengthwise

3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

   For the fresh tomato sauce

1 small yellow onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

4-5 medium- large farm fresh tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

kosher and freshly ground black pepper

   To Serve

1 cup fresh cow's milk ricotta

freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

1 bunch fresh basil

1 lb pasta of your choice (we used whole wheat rotini)

Directions

   Preheat grill or grill-pan to medium-high heat.

   Season eggplant with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Place eggplant on grill and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the exterior is charred and the interior is cooked through.

   In a medium sauce pot over medium heat, add olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook until fragrant. Add the fresh tomatoes, simmer for 20 minutes, until the flesh breaks down, season with salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat. Sauce can be made ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. When ready to serve, heat in a small saucepan over medium heat.

   Meanwhile boil water and cook pasta according to package directions.

   Serve the grilled eggplant halves along with tomato sauce and pasta. Top with a generous dollop of ricotta, grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, and torn basil.

Portobello zucchini tacos

This portobello and zucchini taco filling is a healthy alternative to your typical taco fillings. Since we're subbing out the meat with these veggies this can be your next meatless Monday meal! I loved the flavor of the roasted veggies in the tacos. The roasted veggies give these tacos a different appeal than traditional meat and cheese tacos with taco seasoning. They are light and tasty - perfect meal for the ending of these warm months as everyone tries to savor daylight.

They come together pretty quickly too! While the veggies are roasting you can get everything else together - shredding the cheese and whatever side you want to pair with the taco. We served the tacos with a quinoa-rice blend topped with avocado, sour cream, and salsa to give the tacos their Mexican flair.

Martha Stewart's Portobello and zucchini tacos
   Serves 4

Ingredients
5 portobello mushrooms, stemmed and sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
salt and   pepper
4 zucchini, cut into 2-by-1/2-inch sticks
1 red onion, halved and sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 corn tortillas (4 1/2-inch size) [we subbed whole wheat tortillas]
6 ounces Monterey Jack, shredded (1 1/2 cups)
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered

Directions
   Preheat oven to 425 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and the water; season with salt and pepper. On another baking sheet, toss zucchini and onion with remaining oregano and olive oil; season with salt and pepper.
   Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are browned and fork-tender, 25 to 30 minutes (zucchini may cook faster than mushrooms).
   Using tongs, hold each tortilla directly over a gas flame, turning, until heated through, about 5 seconds. (Alternatively, wrap tortillas in parchment, then foil, and warm in a 350 degrees oven.)
   To serve, fill each tortilla with mushrooms, vegetable mixture, shredded cheese, and tomatoes.