Tarragon Dressing

Dijon Mustard
Fresh Lemon juice
Fresh or dry tarragon
Shallots, minced
S&P

Prep
Mix until desired consistency.

Chicken Cacciatore

Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, about 1 1/2 pounds
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup white wine
shallots
1 pound mushrooms, trimmed and quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (14.5 ounces) stewed tomatoes
1/2 cherry tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
pasta or rice

Preparation:

Sear your seasoned breasts (or legs) in the hot oil over medium heat until golden on each side, about 5 minutes each. Remove chicken and set aside. Add white wine and dig up the bits of chicken left on the bottom, boil for 5 minutes with mushrooms and shallots (until soft) then add tomatoes and oregano and cook about 10 minutes, covered. Add the chicken back in with accumulated juices and cover with a lid. Cook until chicken is at 180 degrees. Serve over rice or pasta.

Puttanesca Sauce

Ingredients:

2 tbl olive oil
1/4 cup shallot, chopped (or onions)
1/4 cup capers
1/4 olives, chopped
1/4 red wine
large can crushed tomatoes
red chili flakes to taste
S+P
meatballs, optional


Preparation:

Saute capers, olives and shallots in olive oil until shallots are tender over medium heat. Add pepper and red wine and reduce one minute. Add tomatoes and red chili flakes and boil until thick over medium-low heat(about 15 minutes). Add meatballs; I get the organic frozen kind at whole Foods and they thaw and heat while the sauce gets chunky.

Pour over pasta or stuffed peppers.

Slow Cook Chili

Ingredients (all measurements to taste):

Cilantro, chopped
Jalapeno, finely chopped
Onion, chopped
Mushrooms, sliced
4 cloves (or more) of garlic, minced
Large can red kidney Beans
small can black beans, drained
small can pinto beans, drained
small can corn, drained
small can stewed diced tomatoes
Veggie stock to cover
Salt and Pepper

Preparation:

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker. My slow cooker has 3 settings: warm, low and high. You'll have to know your machine to get it right but mine works great and hot enough on low. High boils everything, dries it all out, and presumably, will set the place on fire someday if I ever grow forgetful. So I set it to low through a 9 hour workday and switched to high when I got home to thicken the broth.

Vegetarian Reuben

Ingredients:

Dark rye bread
sauerkraut
spinach
mushrooms, sliced
shallots, thinly sliced
swiss cheese
olive oil
butter
Thousand Island dressing (mix equal parts mayo, ketchup, and chopped pickles)

Preparation:
This is pretty self-explanatory, actually, since it's just a sandwich but here we go.

Saute the mushrooms and shallots in oil until soft and add spinach. Cook til wilted. Butter your bread and place on griddle pan. Stack cheese and veggie and grill open faced. Remove from heat, layer sauerkraut and Thousand Island, close up and serve warm.

Beet and Goat Cheese Salad

Eyeball all the ingredients to taste.
Goat cheese
Beets
Toasted Walnuts
Shallots
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Baby greens or frissee

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Peel and cut up the beets into inch thick medallions. Roast with a drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper for about 20 minutes. (Be careful, beets stain.) Pile your greens on a plate, top with thinly sliced shallots, walnuts and goat cheese. Slice the roasted beets and pile on salad. Top with lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil.

Veggie Wrap #1

Ingredients

1/4 c. red pepper, chopped
1/4 c. yellow pepper, chopped
1/4 c. shallots, slivered
1 tbs olive oil
1 bag of baby spinach
2 tbs goat cheese (or more, however much you want)
1 c. brown rice, cooked
1/4 c. chopped walnuts
2 large flour tortillas
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Prepare your rice. When rice is finished, preheat oven to 200 degreess. Spread goat cheese in tortillas and slide into warm oven until the veggies are ready. Sautee peppers and shallots in oil until softened and add spinach with lemon juice to wilt. Remember to salt and pepper the veggies. Remove tortillas and smear the goat cheese evenly, top with 1/2 c. rice, salt and pepper to taste. Add walnuts. Top with veggies and roll it up!

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

2 cups chopped fresh or canned plum tomatoes
1 cup chopped cucumber
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/3 cup olive oil (or less, optional)
Juice of 3 lemons
2 cups veggie broth
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely minced parsley
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
Pepper, coarsely ground
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
Salt
1 46-ounce can tomato juice (unless you used canned tomatoes)
some hot sauce, to taste

Preparation:

Chop all in a food processor and combine in a bowl. Chill for at least 4 hours. If you have an emulsion blender, you can juice it in the bowl after it's chilled or leave chunky. Totally up to you.

Cheap Cioppino

Ingredients:

coriander seeds, fennel seeds and black pepper toasted and ground
1 medium onion, quartered
3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 Turkish bay leaves or 1 California
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in juice
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup full-bodied red wine
1 pound skinless fillets of thick white-fleshed fish such as halibut, hake, or pollack, cut into 2-inch chunks ( I thawed a frozen seafood medley from Trader Joe's, with shrimp, scallops and squid rings and some cubed rock fish, $10)
1 pound cultivated mussels

Preparation:

Toast and grind the seeds and black pepper while you sweat the onions and garlic in a pot with your oil. Add salt, ground seeds, red pepper flakes, and thyme and sautee until onions are soft.

Deglaze with wine and boil for a bit. Add tomatoes in their juice.

Boil on high for 20 minutes (the broth will thicken the more you boil it.

Add fish and seafood and boil until cooked through.

Chewy Flourless Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Magazine

Ingredients:
makes 12 to 24 cookies

3 c. confectioner's sugar
3/4 c cocoa powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 bag chocolate chips
nuts(optional)
4 egg whites, room temperature

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350. Mix together the sugar, cocoa and salt then stir in the chocolate and nuts. Blend in your egg whites until just blended (do not over mix) and bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 20 min.

Herb Salad

Ingredients:

Cilantro
Mint
pPurple basil (regular green works fine, too)
Flat-leaf parsley
Romaine, shredded
Corn niblets
White mushrooms, sliced
Avocado, sliced
Red onion, diced

Preparation:

Combine all to taste and top with your preferred vinaigrette or a squeeze of lemon. Top with chicken to make a meal.

Fish Cakes

Ingredients:

2 white fish fillets (such as orange roughy or halibut, crab or salmon), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup finely chopped onion
6 garlic cloves, chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
6 tablespoons matzo meal or panko or bread crumbs
1 large egg
12 tablespoons (about) olive oil (for frying)
juice of one lemon
2 tbs mayo
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

Preparation:

Coarsely grind the fish in a food processor. Add the next 8 ingredients (onion through black pepper) and pulse till smooth. Transfer to a bowl and mix in bread crumbs and egg.

Form into patties using a large spoonful for each.

Heat oil in pan until sizzling on medium heat, and add cakes. Lett them sizzle for 3 minutes on each side to get a good crust.

Meanwhile, whisk together your mayo, lemon juice, paprika and cayenne for your aioli.

Serve cakes with sauce over brown rice or arugula.

Quickstep Strawberry Cobbler

Ingredients:
Pint strawberries, sliced
1/2 c brown sugar
couple squeezes of lemon
2 tbs butter
1/2 c milk
1 cup flour
pinch salt
1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Whipping cream
Mint, chiffonade

Preparation:

Mix strawberries and brown sugar and lemon juice together in heavy saucepan until juicy (10 min) then bring to boil and bring temp down to a simmer (10 min).

Meanwhile, mix dry ingredients. melt butter into milk and then mix into dry ingredients. Spoon in balls of dough onto the top of the simmering strawberries mixture, spacing them 1/2 inch apart. cover with lid and let cook for 15-20 minutes until the top of dumplings are dry.

Spoon into dishes warm and top with of drizzle cold whipping cream and a chiffonade of mint.

Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:

1 c. balsamic
Chopped shallots (as much or as little as you want)
1 pat butter

Preparation:

Boil the vinegar with shallots until it's the consistency of syrup, reduce heat to simmer, add the butter and stir til melted. Use as a sauce for a white fish.

Roast Chicken with Olives and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 vidalia onion, cut into wedges, leaving root ends intact
1/2 cup pitted black olives
3 large garlic cloves, sliced, plus 1 teaspoon minced
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons herbes de provence, divided
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
chicken, any cut, however much you need and whatever's on sale, skin on, bone in
S+P

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350.

Toss together tomatoes, onion, olives, sliced garlic, 2 tablespoons oil, 1 teaspoon herbes de provence, fennel seeds, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in shallow baking dish.


In a small bowl, stir together minced garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, remaining teaspoon herbes de provence, and remaining tablespoon olive oil; peel back the skin of the chicken from the flesh and rub the sauce under and on top.

Snuggle chicken into baking dish with vegetables. Sprinkle with feta cheese. Cook until chicken registers 170 on a thermometer, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Serve over brown rice with vegetables and pan juices.

Sriracha Crusted Tri-Tip over Cous Cous

Ingredients:

1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tbs sriracha (a thai hot sauce)
1 tablespoons ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 lb tri tip
Cous Cous

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Toast fennel and coriander seeds in small nonstick skillet over medium heat about 5 minutes. Grind seeds and transfer to a small bowl. Add ketchup, sriracha, cumin, olive oil, and minced garlic.

Sprinkle beef all over with salt and pepper in a rimmed baking sheet. coat both sides of the meat with the sauce and roast beef until medium rare.


Serve over cous cous.

Sole Piccata

This is basically scampi with capers and sole instead of shrimp.

Ingredients:

1/4 c. cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp salt
2 tbs. shallots
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. white wine
Olive oil
2 tbs butter
1 tbs capers, drained
2 tbs. parsley, chopped
Sole filets
1 lemon


Preparation:

Combine tomatoes, wine , shallots, butter and salt in a saute pan and bring to a boil. let reduce five minutes. add capers and parsley.

Saute shallots and garlic til soft in oil and butter, deglaze with wine, salt and let reduce. Add tomatoes, capers and parsley.

Salt, pepper and oil fish and saute in large pan til golden brown on each side.

Serve fish over rice or pasta topped with the sauce with a wedge of lemon.

Crusted Ahi Tuna with Aioli and Cous Cous

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

Aioli:

• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
• 2 garlic cloves, minced

Cous Cous

• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 carrot, peeled, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/8 cups water
• 1/4 pound sugar snap peas
• 1 cups couscous
• 1 tablespoons chopped fresh dill (i skipped this, couldn't find, didn't miss it)
  

Tuna:

• 1 pound ahi tuna steaks (about 1 1/4 inches thick)

Preparation:

Crust:
Toast crust ingredients minus the salt over medium heat until fragrant. Grind spices and mix in 1 teaspoon salt.

Aioli:

Whisk mayonnaise, lemon juice, chives, and half of the garlic in small bowl. Refrigerate.

Cous Cous:

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat, add carrots and onion and sauté until onions are soft. Add thyme and remaining garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add water and salt; bring to boil. Add sugar snap peas and cook about 1 minute. Take out the peas and immediately add couscous to the skillet. Stir to combine, cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with fork.

Tuna:

Spray tuna with Pam and sprinkle with spice mixture. Grill tuna on bbq or pan until seared outside and rare in center, about 4 minutes per side. cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Serve over cous cous with the snap peas and drizzle with aioli.

Matzo Brittle

From Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine (June, 09)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 c unsalted butter
2 tbs water
2 cups unsalted matzo crackers, broken up
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 cups semi-sweet choc chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring butter, sugar and water to a boil, stirring continuously. Combine crackers and almonds. Quickly toss the crackers and nuts with the syrup, and layer thickly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Sprinkle chocolate chips on top of brittle and bake for 25 minutes. Smear the chocolate once out of the oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate brittle til hard and break into pieces.

Shrimp Scampi

Ingredients:

1 shallot
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
Olive oil
2 tbs butter
White wine
Cherry tomatoes
Parsley, chopped
Lemon
S+P

Preparation:

Saute garlic and shallot in oil and butter until transluscent. Deglaze with white wine. Add shrimp salt and pepper; cook til opaque. Toss in tomatoes and parsley and heat until tomatoes are soft. Squeeze of lemon, serve over rice or pasta.

Tuna casserole and Artichoke dip

Tuna Caserole
From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients

1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbs olive oil
1/2 c dry white wine
1 small carton heavy cream
1 tsp salt
1 can chunk light tuna in oil or water, drained
1/2 bag frozen peas
1/2 c basil, chopped
pasta of your choice
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Prep:

Cook your pasta according the package directions.

Sautee onion and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add white wine and let it reduce for one minute stirring occassionally. Add heavy cream and salt and let reduce by another minute. Add drained tuna and stir. Add tuna mix to the cooked and drained pasta with the peas, basil, and cheese.


Artichoke Dip:

Ingredients:

1 bag frozen spinach
1 can of artichoke hearts, rough chopped
1/2 c. fat free sour cream
1/2 c. fat free mayonnaise
3 oz. cream cheese
1/3 c. shredded mozzarella
1/4 - 1/2 c. fresh parmesan cheese

Prep:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cook spinach according to directions.  In the meantime, you can mix the remaining ingredients in a big bowl. add spinach. Spoon mixture into a greased casserole dish and bake until the top is crusty.

Recipe from mommy, what's for dinner on blogspot

Whole Wheat Pizza

Ingredients:

2 c. whole wheat flour
1 pkg. or 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
3/4 tsp. salt
1 c. warm water
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. honey
Pizza sauce
Leftover ingredients

Preparation:

Mix together flour, yeast, and salt then add water oil and honey. Cover with warm towel and let rise for ten minutes. Punch down and knead til smooth. flatten half of the dough into the bottom of a greased (oil or cooking spray) 9" pan then layer with sauce and all the leftovers but not limited to goat cheese, grated fontina, salami, marinated veg, tapenade, etc.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Ginger Tilapia

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil
• soy sauce
• rice vinegar
• sesame oil
• rice
• 1 pound of fish fillets (tilapia, flounder, sole, snapper, something mild works best here)
• fresh gingerroot, shredded, to taste
• carrots, shredded
• scallions, chopped
• snowpeas, sugar snap peas or green beans
• shitake (expensive, worth it, yum) or enoki mushroom, chopped
  

Prep:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees and cook fish on parchment paper (sprayed with nonstick cooking spray) until opaque, 20 minutes or so.
2. meanwhile, make a "sauce" of your cut up veggies, oil, vinegar and soy sauce in a sauce pan.
3. serve both hot over rice

Chicken Paillard

Ingredients:

serves 4

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (6 to 8 ounces each)
• 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for pan
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus lemon wedges for serving
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1/4 small red onion, thinly sliced crosswise
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 1 bunch fresh arugula, tough stems removed

prep:

1. Lay chicken flat; holding a sharp knife parallel to work surface, split chicken in half horizontally. Cover with plastic wrap; pound each cutlet with the flat side of a meat mallet or the bottom of a small pan until inch thick.
2. In a shallow dish, combine 2 tablespoons oil and 1 tablespoon lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Add chicken; turn to coat. Heat a large skillet over medium-high; lightly brush with oil. Cook chicken until opaque throughout, 1 to 2 minutes per side.
3. In a bowl, toss together chickpeas, onion, basil, 2 tablespoons oil, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice; season with salt and pepper.
4. Top chicken with chickpea relish; serve with arugula and lemon wedges.

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.

Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti

Ingredients:
Spaghetti squash
One large canned pureed tomatoes
Red wine
Garlic
Onion
Mushrooms
Basil
S+P

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut squash in half and core:

Place squash flesh down on baking sheets and cook til soft (25-40 minutes).

Check for doneness by pressing on the outside of the squash with your finger: if you leave a dent, it's done.

After you've removed the squash, run a fork down the inside (caution: hothot!); the flesh shreds like noodles.

Top with favorite sauce.*

*Real quick spaghetti sauce: sautee onion and garlic in olive oil to sweat, pour in a little with red wine to deglaze, add mushrooms (optional) and cook til slightly wilted, add large can of tomato whatever (sauce, puree, diced, or whole peeled, etc), add basil and salt and pepper to taste.

Mini Quiche with Sage

Ingredients

Eggs, hard-boiled and sliced
Sage, chopped
Puff pastry, cut in 2X2 squares
Gruyere cheese, grated

Preparation

Hard boil your eggs, allow to cool , peel and slice.
Place eggs slices on pastry squares, sprinkle with gruyere cheese and top with sage. Cook according to puff pastry directions until cheese is gold brown.

Chicken Soup with Cornmeal-Sage Dumplings

From foodnetwork.com

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 teaspoons dried thyme

8 cups chicken broth

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black peppe1 cup frozen peas

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup buttermilk1 tablespoon olive oil

Preparation:

Soup:

Heat oil in a large stock pot over medium-high heat; add garlic, onion, carrots, and celery and sweat 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook until chicken is golden brown on all sides. Add thyme and stir to coat. Add broth, salt and black pepper, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Partially cover and boil for 5 minutes. Stir in the frozen peas and bring heat down to simmer. 

Dumplings:

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, sage, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper. Add buttermilk and oil and stir with a fork until mixture comes together. Drop 8 golf ball size dumplings into your simmering soup. cover pan and cook for 5 minutes (don't lift the the lid), until dumplings are puffed up and cooked through.

Cocoa Cake

From recipes4cakes.com
(Takes lots of bowls, might not be such a good idea in a small kitchen)



Ingredients:


1 cup boiling water
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening (you can use butter, sub 1 for 1)
2 eggs, separated
2 cups sifted cake flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 and prepare two 9" pans with non-stick spray, the bottom lined with parchment paper.


Bowl 1: pour boiling water over cocoa and stir until mixture is smooth.


Bowl 2 (your largest): cream sugar and shortening. add egg yolks. beat again.


Bowl 3: sift dry ingredients together 3 times. add alternately to creamed mixture, the dry ingredients and the milk. add cocoa mixture and vanilla.


Bowl 4: beat egg whites until peaks form. fold into cake mix.

Bake in prepared pans for allotted time.


Ice with desired frosting.

Veggie Burger

This is a good mix to serve with eggs, too, if you don't want to make a burger and the ingredients are usually on hand in your pantry and refrigerator.

Ingredients:
1 tbs molasses
1 tbs honey
1 tbs hoisin
1 tbs soy
1 can black beans, drained
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tbs onions, finely chopped
1 tbs finely chopped canned beets
1 tsp beet juice (from can)
1 tbs chili powder
1/4 tbs ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1 egg white
2 tsp olive oil

Preparation:
Stir first four ingredients to make a sauce and set aside.

In a large bowl, mash beans and then stir in 3 tbs of sauce (reserve the remaining for brushing burger) then combine remaining ingredients except olive oil (that's for cooking). Form into patties (mix will keep for at least 5 days).

Heat oil in frying pan over medium. Grill burgers 2 min on each side, flipping carefully (they will fall apart, regardless).

Serve on toasted bun.

Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies

Bon Appetit, April 2004.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (about 1.5 ounces) unsweetened shredded coconut (impossible to find, if you get the sweetened variety just dial back your sugar by a few teaspoons, a little less than half a cup)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks or 6 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325.


Spread coconut on rimmed baking sheet, stirring occasionally, bake until coconut is golden. Cool completely Grind in a coffee grinder, food processor or blender until coarsely ground.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl until well blended. Mix in salt and vanilla. Beat in flour in 2 additions, 2/3 cups at at time. Stir in toasted coconut. Flatten dough into a thick disc, wrap in plastic; chill at LEAST 1 hour. (can be prepared 2 days ahead. keep chilled. soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)

Again, preheat oven to 325.


Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll out dough disk on floured work surface to 1/4-inch thickness.

Using 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter cookie cutters (or an empty soup can) cut dough into rounds.


Bake cookies until light golden, about 20 minutes. Cool on baking sheets 10 minutes. Transfer cookies to racks and cool completely. while they are baking, you can make the chocolate sauce.


Melt chocolate chips and dip completely cooled cookies. Place on parchment paper until chocolate sets (takes hours).

Balsamic Lentil Soup

From Epicurious.


Ingredients:
makes 6 servings
(As with all savory dishes, you can approximate these measurements, adding more of what you like or less if you're a grump)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chopped onions (i chose 1 cup sweet onion, 1 cup white, yum)
1 cup chopped celery (keep the leaves aside for garnish)
1 cup peeled, chopped carrots
3 chopped garlic cloves
4 cups vegetable (or chicken broth)
1 1/4 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-ounce can of diced tomatoes in juice
salt
pepper
balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
Heat your oil and vegetables in large saucepan over med-hi heat until they start to brown (about 10-15 minutes). Add the broth, the lentils and diced tomatoes in the juice and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer until lentils are tender (about 35 minutes). Salt and papper to taste.

Puree with immersion blender or in your food processor. Add balsamic vinegar at the end, as much as you'd like (I usually add a half cup or so).

Garnish with celery leaves and a smidgen of extra vinegar for good looks, like so:

Buttercream frosting

Ingredients:
(9" cake)
4 egg whites
1 c. sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 sticks of unsalted butter (36 tbs), softened.


Preparation:

Whisk egg whites and sugar together in a metal bowl over a pot of simmering water. Stir every once in a while until you can't feel the individual granules when you rub the mixture between your fingers.

Transfer the mix to a big bowl and beat on med until mixture doubles in size. mix in extract and then each stick of butter, one at a time. Whip until it looks like frosting (takes a while).

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:


1 bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
6 eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter, melted
pinch salt


Preparation:
Preheat oven to 325.


Mix egg whites until they form peaks. Combine melted chocolate chips and butter with a pinch salt; add yolks one at a time. Fold chocolate mix into peaked egg whites just until incorporated. Pour into buttered 9 inch baking pan.


Bake til firm, about 25-30 minutes.

Veggie Quiche

This is my mother's recipe and I have no idea where she got it. Probably from her mom.

1 c. whole wheat pastry flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c cold water
1 tsp salt (oops, forgot this last night...)
3 tbsp butter (you can use just one if you want cut down fat)
Seasonal Veggies
Tomatoes, sliced
5 eggs
Cottage cheese
S+P

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix flour and butter until crumbly with a fork, add baking powder and salt. add cold water slowly and mix to form a ball. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead 5 times, roll til big enough to lie in 9" pie pan. Shape to pan, line with parchment paper (I always forget the parchment paper!), fill with pie weights or uncooked beans or rice and pre-bake for 10 minutes, just before the edges get brown. This will help the crust from being soggy when you fill it.

Sautee veggies on medium heat with olive oil. Mix 5 eggs with salt and pepper and some cottage cheese. Place veggies in crust and cover with egg and cheese mixture. Top with tomato slices and cook til firm, about 30 to 45 minutes.

UPDATE! I've been finding that whole wheat, low fat everything is, um, boring. So, for the crust this week (Dec 6, 10), I used all purpose flour and 3 tbs of butter. Now we're talkin'.

UPDATE!! Haha, crust needs more butter and actually maybe even Crisco and definitely more salt. Andy licked his plate but the roast chicken, goat cheese, parsley, onion, garlic, potato combo might have been the real draw. I found the crust to be...less than. Next time! 


UPDATE 3: Sorry (no really) to say that this crust needs a cup of butter to be flaky and worth eating. You can try for less, go ahead but, so far, a cup where I'm at.

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing

From smittenkitchen.com

Ingredients:

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
one 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley ( i used parsley)

add roasted chicken (bought so easy at the grocery store all roasty for ya) for a non-veggie version!

1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and some salt and toss the squash to evenly coat. Roast them on a baking sheet until soft (about 25 minutes).

In a small bowl, whisk together garlic and lemon juice then add tahini and blend. Add water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. Add more water and lemon juice to thin out if necessary.

Combine the warm squash, chicken, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Serve dressing on the side.