Roasted Asparagus

As I have previously mentioned, the boy does not like veggies. Broccoli: yes. Green beans: maybe. Anything else green (or purple, or orange...): no. So when I told him we were having asparagus tonight, he made a face, joked about the smell it would cause, and got out of the kitchen.

When dinner was served I asked what he thought. The response? "It's edible."

I'll take it!!

I thought the flavor was great. The roasting in olive oil, salt and pepper plus topping with lemon zest and parsley is great. My one issue is that I don't think the pine nuts really added much. The boy disagreed and said he liked them, so I will leave it up to you whether to use them or not, but I think for me it won't be worth the cost in the future for so little value added.

Roasted Asparagus-adapted from Food Network Magazine
serves 4

• 1lb asparagus
• 1/2 TBSP olive oil
• salt and fresh ground pepper
• 2 TBSP pine nuts (optional)
• 2 TBSP chapped fresh parsley
• zest of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat oven to 450. Trim asparagus. Toss with oil, salt and pepper on baking sheet. Roast until just starting to brown, 10 minutes.
2. Mix pine nuts (if using), parsley, lemon zest and salt and pepper. Sprinkle over asparagus.

Garlic Bread Twists with Cheese

You know those times when you try a recipe and you know you will be making it forever? This is one of those times. I have already made this recipe 4 times, and 2 of those times I made a double batch.

I don't know how, but these rolls come out so soft and almost buttery, yet there is no butter in them! They certainly remind me of restaurant quality rolls, and my friends who have had them seem to agree.

Garlic Bread Twists with Cheese

3 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
2 ½ tsp active dry yeast
1 TBSP granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups warm water (110F)
1 TBSP canola oil
1 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
1 clove garlic, minced
olive oil for brushing

1. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.
2. Combine half of the flour with yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl; add warm water (110F) and oil; mix until smooth.
3. Stir in garlic and as much of the remaining flour as needed to make a stiff dough (usually I need all of it).
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead 4 or 5 times or until smooth and elastic.
5. Divide dough into fourths; shape each portion into a ball then divide each ball into 10 portions. Shape each portion into an 6-inch stick. Brush 1 stick with water and twist it with another stick, pressing at the top and the bottom. Arrange the twists on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining sticks.
6. Place twists 2-inches apart on baking sheet. Brush the twists with olive oil and sprinkle cheese on top. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 50 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake until lightly browned (just a very light brown in places), 12 to 15 minutes.

Tip: after baking, can wrap and store in freezer bag. Reheat in microwave.

English Muffin Bread and Garlic Herb Butter

This has been floating around my "to be blogged" area for a while. It is a great bread (crusty outside, firm but not at all hard inside) and it is super easy to make (put ingredients in the machine). I served it with baked ziti and the tomato and green bean salad and it perfectly complemented both flavors. You can add any spices you like, but as I note below, my favorite so far is oregano and garlic.
Bread Machine English Muffin Bread (from "The Bread Machine Baker")
1 cup minus 1 TBSP water
1/8 tsp baking soda
2 TBSP nonfat dry milk powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
oregano to taste
garlic powder to taste
2 cups bread flour
2 tsp active dry yeast
Add all ingredients to machine in order listed. Choose regular crust and press start. Also works on rapid or quick bread setting.

I highly recommend this butter for...ANYTHING. I first used it as a spread for crackers and baguettes at the engagement party. Then I used the leftovers as the butter for Italian grilled cheese. Finally, it would certainly work on the above bread!

Roasted Garlic Butter with Chives

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 heads roasted garlic, recipe below
1 tablespoon chopped chives
1/2 tsp. salt

In a bowl, combine all the ingredients and mix well.

Take a large piece of parchment paper and pile the butter at one end of the paper, forming it into a log as best as you can.

Begin rolling the paper and the butter up, jelly-roll style, rolling tightly as you go and smoothing the log.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to use.

Roasted Garlic
Preheat oven to 350
Take 2 heads of garlic and cut off about one-third of the top of each head. Place them each on a piece of aluminum foil and drizzle each with a bit of olive oil. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and then wrap loosely in the foil.
Place them on a baking sheet in the center of the oven.
Bake the garlic for about 40 minutes. Check the garlic. It’s done once the cloves become soft and the head of garlic can be easily squeezed. Don’t burn the garlic.
Let it sit overnight wrapped in the foil and use the following day.

South West Pasta Salad

So I am more than a little behind on posting this one. It is another one from the old picture folder of "remember that time I hosted an engagement party?" This was the version of pasta salad I decided to do. No Italian dressing here! It is covered in flavors of lime, cilantro and cumin. I really enjoyed it, and, an added bonus, the dressing for the salad also makes a great chicken marinade. It is definitely best fresh, but can be stored (w/o the cilantro) overnight in the fridge if you want.

I'm entering this South Western take on pasta salad into the newest Recipe Remix. Enjoy!

South West Pasta Salad (Adapted from Allrecipes)

• 1/2 (16 ounce) package gimelli pasta
• just under 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• just under 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1-2 tablespoons chili powder, to taste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can of corn, drained
  
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 diced green bell pepper
• 1/2 diced red bell pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 cup chopped roma (plum) tomatoes
• green onions
  

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
2. In a large bowl combine oil, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. Stir in pasta and set aside to cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.
3. Stir in corn, beans, green pepper, red pepper and 1/2 of the cilantro leaves. Spoon onto a platter and garnish with tomatoes and remaining cilantro and green onions. Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

This one was such a winner. I want to send a HUGE thank you to Smitten Kitchen for this delicious and healthy side dish idea. I served it alongside baked ziti and home made bread. The bread with the salad was delicious. I used it to soak up all the extra dressing. If I was not serving with a crusty bread, I would likely halve the dressing recipe, because it was far too much dressing for JUST the veggies. So great and easy, you have to try it!
I am submitting this wonderful recipe to Joelen's Tasty Tools roundup because you need your whisk to get the dressing right. I reccomend using a very small whisk because of how little you need to mix up.
Green Bean and Cherry Tomato Salad

1 pound green beans
1 pound cherry tomatoes
1/4- 1/2 an onion
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Top and tail the beans (I also halve the big ones at this stage), and parboil them in salted water until tender (2-4 min). Drain and immediately spread them out to cool. Stem the cherry tomatoes and cut them in half. Can do up to here in advance, but do not move ahead before you are ready to eat.

For the vinaigrette, dice the onion fine and put it in a bowl with the vinegar and salt and pepper. Whisk in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the balance with more vinegar, oil, or slat, as needed. Toss the cherry tomatoes in with the vinaigrette; this can sit for a while. Do not add the green beans until just before serving or they will discolor. Toss and serve.

Shrimp Saganaki

Wow. So considering that I have MANY notes on this recipe about what I had to change and how i potentially butchered it, this dish came out spectacularly. It is shrimp baked with tomatoes and cheese in a Greek style. Yum-O! So good! I served with orzo and grilled, greek spiced squash. All around phenomenal. I am submitting this healthy dish to Eat Healthy: Protein Rich for its 31g of protein.Here's the fun part, the many things I changed. I recommend trying it the original way if you can, but my way (noted in parenthesis) is easier and still great. I used cooked frozen shrimp instead of fresh, uncooked shrimp. I used goat cheese instead of feta. I used canned diced tomatoes instead of chopped tomatoes. Still, this saganaki somehow survived in great shape.
Shrimp Saganaki
serves 6
1/4 cup olive oil plus oil for drizzling
1/2 cup diced onion
salt and pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp oregano plus extra for sprinkling
1 cup diced, peeled, seeded tomatoes (instructions below)
1/4 cup white wine
1 28oz can chopped (used diced) tomatoes with juice
parsley
1 1/2 lbs shrimp, peeled, deveined (recipe says to keep tail on, but this makes it messier, just take the tail off too) (I used cooked, still frozen shrimp. Just rinse with enough water to seperate, but use still frozen.)
3/4 cup diced feta (used goat cheese)

To Peel Tomatoes
Bring pot of water to boil. Core and lightly score tomato skin in quarters. Place scored tomato in boiling water for 30 sec. Remove and place in ice water. Using a paring knife, carefully pull off skin.

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Heat 1/4 cup oil in large pan over med heat. Add onion and pinch of salt. Cover and cook, stirring occaisoonally for 8 min. Add garlic and saute for another min. Stir in oregano and pinch of salt. Add diced tomatoes and wine and simmer for 3 min.
2. Stir in canned otmatoes and juice, raise heat to medium high and again bring to simmer. Simmer 6 min and then fold in parsley. Season with salt and pepper, noting that cheese will add saltiness.
3. Spoon just enough tomato sauce into an oven safe, round pan or 9x13 baking dish to cover the bottom. Working from outside in, make concentric circles of shrimp (place tail to head, just touching). Spoon remaining sauce over top. Sprinkle cheese on top, drizzle with olive oil and oregano.
4. Bake for 20 min or until hot and bubbling with golden brown cheese.

Greek Squash
1 squash
olive oil
greek seasoning
Combine greek seasoning and oil. Slice squash into rounds. Brush oil onto the squash. Grill squash until tender.

Italian Grilled Cheese and Tortellini Tomato Soup

A while ago, I mentioned that I had a project I would be working on. The project has changed slightly since then, but here is what's happening: I'm hosting J and O'L's engagement party! I'm highly excited. I am hosting it in my apartment with my room mates and I 'm catering it! Ya! The party is April 27th, so I will be trying to find the best recipes until then. We are trying to keep it as finger food but replace dinner food with hors dourves here.While we had one hiccup with a thai chicken skewer that will not be served, this sandwich recipe was immediately approved to be served. It is an Italian Grilled Cheese Sandwich and it was a great dinner sandwich but will also be adorable cut into 4 triangles to serve as noshes.
But, because of the classic grilled cheese/tomato soup combo, and the fact that Danielle and Robin are hosting a recipe remix, I didn't stop at the grilled cheese. I added a Tortellini Tomato soup to the side for a super easy, delicious Italian supper.

Tips and Changes: Be sure to butter even the edges of the top of the bread for the sandwiches, or else it will burn before other parts toast. Otherwise both dishes were perfect.Tortellini Tomato Soup (Adapted from Allrecipes)

• 2 Tbsp oil
  
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 onion, diced
  
• 32 oz box of reduced sodium chicken broth
• 3 cups water
  
• 1 (9 ounce) package small cheese tortellini
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil and oregano
• 2 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• parmesan cheese

1. Saute carrot and onion over medium/high heat for about 8-10 minutes until softened. Add broth and water. Bring to a simmer.
2. Add tortellini, tomatoes, zucchini, and basil and simmer 10-20 min.
3. Serve and top with parmesan.

Italian Grilled Cheese (adapted from Allrecipes)

• 1/4 cup softened butter or country crock
  
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1/8 teaspoon parmesan
• 8 slices white or potato bread
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano or basil
  
• 1/2 of an 8 ounce package shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 cup jarred vodka marinara sauce

1. Preheat your oven's broiler.
2. Place 4 slices of bread onto a baking sheet. Spread a few spoonfuls of sauce onto each slice then top with a small handful of the mozzarella cheese. Top with the remaining 4 slices of bread. Mix together the butter, parmesan, basil/oregano and garlic powder, brush some over the tops of the sandwiches, or spread with the back of a tablespoon.
   
3. Place baking sheet under the broiler for 2 to 3 minutes, until golden brown. Remove pan from oven, flip sandwiches, and brush the other sides with butter. Return to the broiler, and cook until golden, about 2 minutes.
4. Cut sandwiches in half diagonally, and serve immediately.

Gougeres (French Cheese Puffs)

Joelen’s Culinary Adventures is hosting what I think is an AWESOME idea for a blog event. She is dubbing it “Tasty Tools” and this month’s focus is on graters and microplanes. Hmm, well my room mate did just buy a grater…so I’m in!

I decided to make gougeres…aka French cheesepuffs. I had never made them before and, well, they are cheese puffs! How bad could they be? Oh, and they use a ton of cheese which you need to grate. Perfect.

I ended up using a recipe from Nook and Pantry for its ease and the fact that it included spices. The other recipes just seemed bland.

Issues I had: knowing when to take the dough off the heat. After the 30 sec to a minute back on the stove, I didn’t see any difference. After a minute 30 sec I just gave up and took it off the heat. I also had an issue with the flavor. I ended up doubling some of the spices because I felt the flavor as listed was still flat.

I ended up having to add the fourth egg…but it was hard to figure out! The mixture kind of drooped from the beaters…so I am pretty sure I was right in adding it. Next issue was sizing. These babies poof up a lot when baking, so don’t make your scoops too big or they won’t be bite size, but meal size.

Finally, to up the cheesyness, I added the cheese on top as directed, but then, in the last 2 min of baking, added a little more cheese to melt on top.

Turned out deliciously. Would be great to serve with a dip or filling at a cocktail party. And, they are so airy, you don’t mind eating a whole bunch of them. But remember, serve warm and fresh. They lose crispyness when they sit for a while.

Gruyere Gougeres
1 C water
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 tsp granulated sugar
1 C AP flour
3/4 C + 2 Tbsp grated Gruyere (I ended up using a combo of swiss and parmesan since my store didn’t sell gruyere) (will need extra for the extra top cheese)
1/8 tsp black pepper (I used ¼ tsp)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper, optional (I used about ¼ tsp)

(I added ¼ tsp garlic powder)
3 to 4 eggs

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Add the water, butter, and sugar to a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Take off heat and add the flour all at once. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon for 30 to a minute.

Put the pan back on heat and stir for 30 seconds to a minute to evaporate excess moisture.

Scoop the mixture into a mixing bowl and let cool for a bit.

Add the Gruyere, black pepper, (garlic powder) and cayenne pepper. Beat in 3 eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each egg. It is easiest to do this in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. After the third egg, see if the mixture falls from the beaters. If the mixture still clings to the beaters, add the fourth egg.

Pipe or spoon 1 Tbsp (cookie scoops are pretty handy for this task) of the mixture onto a parchment sheet lined baking sheet 2 inches apart.

Add a small pinch of cheese of the remaining 2 tbsp of cheese on top of each puff.Bake at 425ºF for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature down to 375ºF and bake for another 15 minutes, until puffs are golden brown. In the last 2 minutes you can add extra cheese on top, but try not to open the oven very much during baking.

They're delicious fresh out of the oven. You can store them in the fridge or freezer but reheat them in an oven to crisp them up. You can also fill them.

Yield approximately 30+ puffs.

Ratatouille

Having seen how georgeous it came out and having read the rave reviews from many sources, I just HAD to try the ratatouille based off the one in the recent Disney movie. Sadly, like a culinary rat with just processed American cheese, I was disapointed and left craving more.

I got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen who has posted some delightful recipes, just, in my and my roommates' opinions, this was not the best. It tasted just fine, sure. It was a good texture and good combo of taste, but it was, in no way, worth the time and effort it took.Look how much prep there is! It took forever. My mandoline refused to neatly cut the eggplant or the pepper or the onion...so it took a LONG time. Add in slicing time of zucchini and squash, and you get a dish that is not worth the work you put in.

Also, it wasn't filling. I served HEFTY portions (more than half of a 9x13 pan) of the stuff over cous cous...and we were still craving protein and fullfillment. Sorry, but this is just a really nice, really hard to prepare salad or side dish, not an entree.

Yes it is yummy. Yes it is pretty. Yes it is really good for you. But it is not a meal and it is not worth the effort. If you, say, had unlimited time, this would be great served as a side along side chicken parm. Replace the pasta with these veggies to make it better for you and more creative. Would be delicious! But not worth the work otherwise.

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen
½ onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced

1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 small eggplant

1 smallish zucchini

1 smallish yellow squash

1 longish red bell pepper

Few sprigs fresh thyme

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.
Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.
On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.
Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.
Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.
Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside.

Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them. Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.

Pizzettes

I hate doing this. I really do. This entry is yet another confession that, while I have many issues with Giada (inc. her uncanny ability to attract male viewers in ways not appropriate for day time television) she makes really good food. Gosh darn you food porn star with a great recipe collection.

For my new years eve party I made a spread of hors dourves and bite size desserts. These were definately in the top 2. They are like mini pizzas. So delicious, yet mature and adorable. Definately a hit. I forgot to get a picture of the plate once I had baked all of them, but it is so fun to see a pretty plate stacked high with baby pizzas.
Tips and changes for next time: I used dry basil instead of fresh because, well, college student budget! To work with it, I put the basil on the cough before the cheese. Also I used shredded mozzerella because I just do not like gorgonzola. I think it worked just fine and made it more generally accepted.

I had an issue with the dough puffing up and the tomatoes sometimes fell off. Once I realized this, I briefly took the trays out 1/2 way through baking, used spoons to scoop up and reattach tomatoes, then rotated the trays and continued baking. Fixed it, no problem. As for the final steps of drizzling with evoo and salt and pepper, the pizzettes are fine without, but the evoo and salt definately add a something special.

Oh, and the dough is easiest to work with when room temp, so let it warm up 1st.

Pizzettes (I got it from the Giada's Family Dinners section of Best of the Best)
serves 8 to 10 people (about 3 pieces per person)
1 ball (12 ounces) purchased pizza dough
5 ounces Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled (I used shredded Mozzerrella)
5 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄3 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Roll out the pizza dough into a ¼-inch-thick round. Using a 2¼- to 2½-inch-diameter cookie cutter, cut out 30 dough circles. Arrange the circles on 2 large, heavy baking sheets.
Sprinkle the cheese over the circles. Top with the tomatoes, pressing them gently into the dough.
Bake until the pizzettes are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Drizzle the pizzettes with the oil, then sprinkle with the basil, salt, and pepper. Arrange the pizzettes on a platter and serve immediately (best when hot, but stayed good all night).