Succotash with Grilled Scallops and Parsley Drizzle

From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:
Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 (10-ounce) package frozen lima beans, thawed
1 zucchini quartered lengthwise and sliced
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 1/4 pounds large sea scallops (about 16)
S+P
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves (optional)

1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons water, as needed to slacken

Prep:

Sautee in oil over medium heat, the onions and garlic til fragrant. Stir in the corn, lima beans, zucchini, and tomatoes until the vegetables are tender. Spray a large nonstick skillet or grill pan with cooking spray, and preheat it over medium-high heat .Add rinsed, patted dry and seasoned scallops to the pan and cook until the inside is opaque, 5 to 6 minutes, turning once.
Stir in vinegar and basil into veggie mix, season with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Serve topped with scallops.


Parsely drizzle: combine parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and water. Drizzle on scallops and succotash.

Morrocan-style Veggie Stew with Yogurt Sauce

From epicurious.com

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 ounces) greek-style yogurt
1 tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon harissa sauce or red chili paste
1 garlic clove, minced
coarse kosher salt

Coarse kosher salt

1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-to 3/4-inch pieces

1 3/4-pound turnip, (or parsnips) peeled, cut into 1/2-to 3/4-inch pieces

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 pound spring onions or green onions, coarsely chopped (about 1 3/4 cups)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 teaspoons all purpose flour

1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained, rinsed

1 5-ounce bag baby spinach

1 to 3 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Preparation:

Make the sauce first by combining the ingredients and chill.

Bring 8 cups of water to a boil with some salt in a large pot and add chopped carrots until tender then treat veg to an ice bath. Do the same with turnips. (This is a quick veggie stock.)

In a large pot, sautee garlic, onions, mint and parsley with the spices until onions are tender in butter. Deglaze with wine and cook til reduced by half, add flour and stir. add to mix the rest of the ingredients plus 4 c. of your stock and cook til desired consistency adding more stock as you go.

Top with yogurt sauce.

Double Celery Soup

From epicurious.com!

Ingredients
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium-size Yukon Gold potatoes (about 12 ounces), peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium celery roots (celeriac; about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 large fresh thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
8 cups low-salt chicken broth\
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 celery stalks with leaves, stalks thinly sliced, leaves reserved

Prep:

Melt butter with oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add leeks and onion and sauté until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in potatoes, celery roots, thyme, and bay leaf. Add broth and bring to boil for a few minutes. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes. Add celery stalks and simmer until all vegetables are very tender, about 12 minutes longer.
Puree soup in pot. Stir cream into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with reserved celery leaves and serve.

Strawberry-Blonde Layer Cake

Ingredients:

cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
6 large egg whites, beaten to blend
1 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

frosting:
4 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
1 cup strawberry preserves
2 pounds strawberries, hulled, sliced
1 pound strawberries, hulled

prep:
preheat oven to 350. Mix cake ingredients in order and bake in 9" round pans til set, 25 minutes or so. Frost layers with whipped cream and top with strawberries.

Banana Nut Muffins

From elise.com


Ingredients:
makes 12 muffins

3 or 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 Tbsp espresso or strong coffee (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cup of flour
1 cup chopped walnuts (toasted or raw)

Prep:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mash the bananas in a large bowl then mix in the rest of the ingredients except the flour. Once everything else is mixed, add the flour incrementally then the walnuts until incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared muffin pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Roasted Tomato-Basil Soup

Soups are too easy: always start with celery, carrots, onion, garlic and olive oil in a pan, add ingredients, plus stock, bring to a rolling boil for a few minutes then simmer for 25. Purree and done.

Ingredients:
Carrots, finely chopped
Onion, finely chopped
Celery, chopped
Garlic, minced
Olive oil
Chicken or veggie stock
1 large can chopped tomatoes
Basil
S+P

Prep:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spread canned tomatoes on heavy baking sheet, saving the juice for later, drizzle with a few tablespoons of olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast until tomatoes are caramelized, about 15-20 minutes. In a pot, sautee in oil chopped onion, celery, carrot, minced garlic, salt and pepper and cook on medium-high heat until veggies are fragrant.

Add roasted tomatoes, stock and reserved tomato juices and cook until vegetables are soft. Add basil to taste and puree with immersion blender or  in batches in a food processor.

Rosemary-Roasted Salmon with Lemon

From epicurious.com!

Ingredients:

4 small bunches of rosemary
1 lemon, quartered or sliced
Fillets of Salmon
Olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Prep:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lay two bunches of rosemary on the bottom of your cookware followed by red onion. Oil, salt and pepper salmon and place on rosemary skin down on top. Layer more rosemary and slices of 1/2 lemon over salmon. Salt lemon slices. Drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 20 minutes.

I made cous-cous with orange slices in it for a starch to round out the dinner (but mostly because andy whines when there is no starch).

Marshmallow Fondant

http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm

Remember to:

a. Refrigerate frosted cake for 30 minutes or so before layering on fondant.

b. Roll fondant very thin.

c. Recipe says cornstarch but vegetable shortening works, too, to keep from sticking to the counter.