Ok, not really bacon, just bacon salt! It's totally vegetarian and it adds a smoky, salty flavor to a lot of things. I'm not advocating that everything should taste like bacon, but in this recipe it really adds a great kick.
Even without the peppers, the goat cheese mixture could be a great dip for crackers, veggies or even added to a veggie sandwich. Delish! 2 Bell peppers, any color ½ cup Goat Cheese ½ cup Greek Yogurt Zest of 1 lemon Juice of ½ a lemon 1 tbsp Bacon Salt (or to taste) Prep the peppers by cutting off the top and fashioning the remaining part into little "boats." Combine all other ingredients in small bowl and mash with fork until well combined. Place peppers on medium hot grill, skin side up, for three minutes. Turn over, fill with goat cheese mixture, and cook for three more minutes.
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In light of all the brussels sprouts in my life lately (and my new obsession with combining them lemon and butter), I found a way to pull them into a simple, tangy pasta that's quick to throw together on a weeknight. Any type of pasta will do (I'm imagining whole wheat or a gluten-free version would be just fine). Just make sure you eat it all this first night, as I found the reheated version doesn't quite cut it.
1/2 lb short cut Pasta 2 cups Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and quartered 1 cup Pistachios, shelled and chopped 4 tbsp Butter 3/4 cup Greek Yogurt Juice and zest of 1 lemon 1/2 cup Parmesan, shredded Salt and pepper, as needed Cook pasta according to package directions, salting water before boiling. Meanwhile, heat butter in large pan on medium-high heat, allowing it to get to just browning point. Add brussels sprouts, sauteing until soft, about 6 minutes. Add pistachios, lemon juice and zest and saute for another minute or two. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water. Add pasta, water and yogurt to brussels sprouts pan, mixing thoroughly until combined. Add salt and pepper as needed. Spoon into serving bowls, topping with parmesan. Serve immediately. Serves 2-3. It’s winter…time to roast veggies! And Brussels sprouts are the perfect roastable veg. I found this recipe on finecooking.com and it spoke to me because a) I am a sucker for browned butter* and b) have been zesting lemons like crazy lately. The combination brightens the Brussels like nobody’s business.
Costco carries a big bag of Brussels sprouts that are perfect for this application. 1-1/2 lb. Brussels Sprouts, trimmed and quartered 3 tbsp Olive Oil Salt and black pepper 4 tbsp Butter 1 tbsp Shallot, minced 1-1/2 tbsp Lemon Juice, freshly squeezed lemon juice 1-1/2 tsp Fresh Thyme, chopped 1 tsp Lemon Zest, finely grated 1/4 tsp Dijon Mustard Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line two rimmed baking sheets with parchment or tin foil. In a medium bowl, toss the sprouts with the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. Spread the sprouts out evenly on the two baking sheets. Roast until the sprouts are tender but not mushy, 20 to 22 minutes, stirring once or twice during roasting. About 10 minutes out, combine the butter and shallot in a small, heavy saucepan. Cook, stirring often, over medium heat until the butter is melted and the shallots are soft, about 2 minutes. Raise the heat to medium high and continue cooking, swirling the pan, until the milk solids in the butter turn golden brown and the butter smells very nutty (take care that none of the shallots burn), about 2 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice, thyme, lemon zest, mustard, and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to dress the sprouts. Slide the sprouts into a medium bowl, add the vinaigrette, and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt, pepper, or extra lemon juice if desired, and serve immediately. *My Dutch grandmother used to make a dish when I was young called Holland Beefsteak. It involved cooking steak in brown butter…I could have taken or left the steak at that point, but the aroma of the browning butter still makes me happy. No wonder I am happy to cook my veggies in it! As I said, I’ve been roasting a lot of veggies lately. This one is great if you have a big bag of broccoli on hand (also a great buy from Costco). I brought this to a New Year’s Eve party the other night to accompany our hosts’ Italian feast…these are a great way to add some greens onto just about any main meal.
1 head of broccoli, or about 1 lb 2 tbsp Olive Oil 3 tbsp Parmesan, grated Juice of 1 Lemon, freshly squeezed Zest of 1 Lemon, finely grated Preheat oven to 400°. Spread broccoli on rimmed baking pan and toss with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes or until broccoli is tender but not mushy, stirring once halfway through. Put broccoli in large serving bowl and add parmesan, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well. Serve immediately. So I have some friends at work—MC and LB—who are workout buddies and cooking buddies. The catch is that MC is on the Paleo diet, and LB is a long-term vegetarian. Amazingly, these two things seem to mesh pretty well when they’re cooking! (MC even has a Paleo blog, where she posted a non-veg version of this recipe.) This is their take on all the different tom kha variations they found out there.
My first experience with this soup was at my favorite Thai restaurant in Chicago. There it was pure white, and stocked only with cilantro, tofu, green onion and mushrooms. Simple, but the perfect combination of flavors, and it quickly became one of my takeout go-tos. Here, MC and LB futzed until they found their own version of tom kha, chock full of healthy veggies and spice. 4 cups Vegetable Broth 1 stalk Lemongrass, about 5 inches 3 cloves Garlic 1-1/2 inches Ginger, peeled (1-½ tablespoons minced) 2 Thai Chili Peppers 1/3 cup Red and/or Yellow Peppers 1 Carrot, thinly sliced 2/3 cup Butternut Squash, cooked and diced ½ cup Button, White or Straw Mushrooms, cut into quarters 14 oz can Coconut Milk Juice of one Lime Soy Sauce, to taste (optional) Salt and pepper to taste To prep, peel lemongrass until you see pale yellow. (If you already bought it peeled, you will skip this step.) Chop off 1/3 of stalk and set aside. Bring vegetable broth to simmer over medium heat. Add 1/3 of stalk to pot and simmer for 5 minutes. Mince the remaining 2/3 of lemongrass stalk, garlic, ginger and Thai peppers and add to pot. Simmer for 5 more minutes. Add yellow peppers, carrots, squash and mushrooms. Simmer for 20 minutes. Add coconut milk and lime juice. (If you’re using soy sauce, splash that in now too.) Serve and enjoy! In addition to the Tuscan Stuffed Mushrooms I made for our Italian summer progressive dinner the other night, I also did these light crostini that were a big hit. I was worried that the edamame would make it too sweet, but the arugula provides a nice foil, as does the fresh lemon.
The original recipe calls for fava beans, but since they’re scarce when not in season, the edamame substitution makes this a super easy dish. I even swapped the Parmigiano-Reggiano the original recipe called for with the Pecorino Romano I was already using for the mushrooms. 1 cup shelled, frozen Edamame, thawed 1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp Olive Oil, divided 1-1/2 cups Baby Arugula (1-1/2 ounces), divided 3 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano 1/4 tsp Lemon Zest 1/2 tsp fresh Lemon Juice 1 Baguette 16 Mint or Basil Leaves, for garnish Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle. Pulse edamame in a food processor until very coarsely chopped, then transfer half of mixture to a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup oil, 1/2 cup arugula, cheese, lemon zest and juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to edamame in processor and purée until smooth. Add to bowl of coarse edamame, then coarsely chop remaining cup arugula and gently fold into mixture. Cut diagonal slices (1/3 inch thick) from baguette and place on a sheet pan. Brush or drizzle with remaining tablespoon oil. Bake until pale golden and crisp, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon mixture onto baguette toasts, then drizzle with oil and top with mint or basil. We are lucky enough to live within walking distance of a number of friends in our neighborhood in south Boulder. We have long toyed with the idea of doing a progressive dinner at our respective houses, and finally, last Saturday, we made the magic happen! We chose a theme of Italy 1962, and dressed and cooked accordingly.
My job was simple—I was the first house, so I was responsible for appetizers, and tried to go out of my way to make them special. Of course I turned to Giada De Laurentiis for inspiration, since she’s got a way of making simple ingredients taste great. (You can find her original recipe here.) I served these with some edamame-arugula crostini (I’ll post that recipe later), as well as some simple prosciutto-wrapped asparagus. Voila! Delightful Italian summer afternoon fare. One note was that I wished I had worked harder to find large button mushrooms—some of them were so small it was hard to fit any stuffing in! And use your hands to pull out the mushroom stems—it will pull out in one piece and create a nice little cavity for your filling. 1/2 cup jarred Roasted Red Peppers, diced 1/2 cup pitted Green Olives, diced 1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese 2 Scallions, diced 2 tbsp Olive Oil 1/2 tsp Salt 1/4 tsp Black Pepper 1 pound large White Button Mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed 1/4 cup Fresh Basil Leaves, finely chopped Preheat the oven to 400* F. In a medium bowl, combine the roasted red bell peppers, olives, cheese, scallions, olive oil, salt and pepper. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the mushrooms, cavity side up, on top. Spoon the filling into the mushrooms, and bake until the mushrooms are tender, about 20 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a serving platter, sprinkle with chopped basil and serve. _A friend forwarded this recipe from a fun site called Iowa Girl Eats—she said it would be perfect minus the ham the recipe originally called for. And perfect it was for a little Easter picnic brunch with my mom.
I made the quinoa and grated the zucchini the night before, so they were easy to mix up and make in the morning. We packed them up and took them to Chautauqua along with some egg salad, fresh fruit and yummy croissants from a bakery near my mom’s house. They don’t need to be hot to be delicious. I tweaked a little for ingredients, pan size and preference. I doubled the batch, too, so you’ll have enough leftover to stick in the freezer—just take a few out at night, put them in the fridge and they’re the perfect filling, wholesome breakfast. And don’t be afraid to switch up ingredients! These would do well with a variety of veggies. Makes about 24 muffin-sized cups 4 cups cooked Quinoa (about 1.5 cups uncooked) 4 Eggs 4 Egg Whites 2 cups Zucchini, grated (1 large zucchini should do the trick) 2 cups Cheddar Cheese, grated 1 small can Green Chiles ½ cup Cilantro, chopped ¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated 4 Green Onions, sliced Salt & Pepper to taste Preheat oven to 350*. Liberally spray 2 muffin tins with cooking spray (make sure it’s liberal—they can get a stick-to-the-pan-y if not). Prepare quinoa according to package directions. Fluff and add to large bowl. While quinoa is cooking, grate zucchini into a separate bowl and toss with ½ tsp salt together. Let stand 5 minutes, then transfer to sieve/strainer. Press out excess liquid before adding to bowl with quinoa. Add remaining ingredients, mix thoroughly and spoon into muffin tins, filling to the top of each cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until edges are golden brown. Let cool about 5 minutes before removing from the pan. My mom came for dinner the other night and I wanted to make something new—something refreshing that felt healthy and filling. I turned to 101 Cookbooks for inspiration and found this little gem. Apparently it originally comes from a San Francisco restaurant called Pomelo and is on their menu as “otsu.” Also apparently it’s delicious. I think I’ve found a new way to cook tofu, too—it holds together nicely in a pan without any oil. And of course, it showcases the king of all herbs, cilantro. Cilantro cilantro cilantro.
I made a few augmentations for simplicity and learned that if you can’t find soba noodles (which I couldn’t on my last-minute shopping trip), whole grain linguine works rather nicely. I also pressed the tofu between two plates and put a heavy book on top to help squeeze out the excess moisture. In the end, this can be served hot or cold and is delicious either way. Dressing Fresh ginger, cut into a 1-inch cube, peeled, and grated 1 tbsp honey 3/4 tsp cayenne 3/4 tsp salt 1 tbsp lemon juice 1/4 cup unseasoned rice vinegar 1/3 cup soy sauce 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp sesame oil 12 oz dried soba noodles 12 oz extra-firm tofu 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro 4 green onions, thinly sliced 1 small cucumber, peeled, cut in half lengthwise, seeded, and thinly sliced 1 small handful of cilantro sprigs, for garnish 1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds, for garnish Make the dressing by combining the zest, ginger, honey, cayenne, salt, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce in a food processor and process until smooth. With the machine running, drizzle in the oils. (I actually did all this with a stick blender, but it got a little sloppy so I think the food processor works best.) Cook the soba in plenty of rapidly boiling salted water just until tender, then drain and rinse under cold running water. Set aside. While the pasta is cooking, drain the tofu, pat it dry, and cut it into rectangles roughly the size of your thumb (½ inch thick and 1 inch long). Cook the tofu in a dry nonstick (or well-seasoned) skillet over medium-high heat for a few minutes, until the pieces are browned on one side. Toss gently once or twice, then continue cooking for another minute or so, until the tofu is firm, golden, and bouncy. At the same time, toast the sesame seeds in a small dry pan over medium heat, stirring frequently, until golden brown. In a large mixing bowl, combine the soba, cilantro, green onions, cucumber, and about ⅔ cup of the dressing. Toss until well combined. Add the tofu and toss again gently. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds and a few cilantro sprigs for garnish. Serves 4-6 Ina does it again. I saw this on her show last year and made it immediately. Unfortunately the first time I used plain old phyllo dough instead of puff pastry (bad idea!) and it's taken me this long to get around to making it the right way.
I served it alongside an arugula salad, which is great because you can double time the shaved parmesan. Together they were heaven. I've augmented Ina's recipe just a titch, making an easy-but-sophisticated dinner even easier. And more sophisticated. Okay, maybe not more sophisticated, but, dare I say, tastier? Serve this at your next dinner party and people will think you’re the bee’s knees. To serve, I simply cut the square tarts in quarters, and served each person two of them. The next time I do this I might cut each puff pastry sheet in half, so everyone gets their own long rectangle tart of goodness. Serves about 4. 1 package (17.3 ounces/2 sheets) puff pastry, defrosted Olive oil 4 cups thinly sliced Yellow Onions (2 large onions) 3 large Garlic cloves, cut into thin slivers Salt and freshly ground black pepper 3 tbsp dry White Wine 2 tsp minced fresh Thyme or Rosemary leaves 6 tbsp shaved Parmesan (use a vegetable peeler) 3 oz Goat Cheese (herbed if you like) 1 large Tomato, cut into thick slices 5 tablespoons Basil, julienned Thaw puff pastry. Once it’s flexible, unfold it onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Preheat the oven to 425*. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to low heat and add the onions and garlic. Saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are limp and there is almost no moisture remaining in the skillet. (You may think that this is a long time to cook onions, but have patience with them. They get soo much better when they’re all brown and crispy.) Add 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, the wine and thyme/rosemary and continue to cook for another 10 minutes. Remove from the heat. Using a sharp knife, score 1/4-inch-wide border around each pastry square. Prick the pastry inside the score lines with the tines of a fork and sprinkle two tablespoons of the parmesan on each square, staying inside the scored border. Place 1/2 of the onion mixture on each square, again staying within the scored edge. Crumble the goat cheese on top of the onion mixture. Add tomato slices, sprinkle with olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. Finally, scatter the remaining parmesan on each tart. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden brown. Serve hot or warm. |
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