Pinto Pie

This dish was ok. It was very edible...I know that isn't a great way to describe a meal, but it was. I didn't dislike it. I just thought it was a little bland. It is basically a chili with cornbread baked on top. There is nothing wrong with this concept. I followed the recipe exactly the first time, but if I were to make this again I would add some different spices and maybe some other veggies to the chili part. The opportunities for adaptation are high.
It is also a really fast dish to make. Perfect for a busy weeknight.

Pinto Pie - from Vegetarian Times
2 14.5 cans of pinto beans drained, 1 1/2 c of liquid reserved (this was all the liquid in the cans)
3tbs tomato paste
3tbs olive oil
1 large red onion diced
2 1/2tbs chili powder
3 medium plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
6tbs whole grain cornbread muffin mix (I used hogdson mills brand)
1 1/2c plain nonfat Greek yogurt (I used soy sour cream, because I can't eat yogurt)
1 large egg
1 1/2tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 425. Coat 9in pie dish with cooking spray. Whisk reserved bean liquid with tomato paste in small bowl and set aside.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 cups of the onion. Cover and cook 4 min or until onion begins to soften, stirring occasionally. Add chili powder and stir 10 sec to coat onions. Stir in tomato paste mixture, 1 cup tomatoes, and then beans. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered, 6 min or until thickened. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

Meanwhile, combine cornbread mix 1/3 c yogurt, egg, sugar and 1tbs water in medium bowl.
Spread chili beans in prepared pie dish. Pour cornbread batter over beans, spreading with back of spoon. Bake 10 min or until cornbread is set and golden.
Meanwhile, finely chop remaining 1/2 c onion. Place in small bowl, mix in remaining 1/2 c tomato and season with salt and pepper if desired. (I also squeezed in a little lime juice)
Serve pie with tomato salsa and remaining yogurt.

You can also serve with any other taco toppings you would like - I used shredded lettuce, limes and shredded cheese.

African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans

I love my slow cooker. I don't use it as often as I probably should, mainly because I have a limited recipe repertoire for it, but when I do use it I am reminded of how wonderful and useful it is. 
This stew comes from Wednesday night. It was my first day of my externship, and I had no idea when I would be home or how tired I would be. This is the perfect time to pull out the slow cooker, I thought to myself. And because I had to be up pretty early on Wednesday morning I actually did most of the prep for this the night before. I sauteed the onion and garlic and chopped the sweet potato and just put it all in a big bowl in the refrigerator so that all I had to do the next morning was toss it in the slow cooker.
Is this stew authentically African? I have no idea. It does taste similar to some things I have had at Ethiopian restaurants I have eaten at. It was filling and hearty and perfect for the cold, cold weather. (The high on Wednesday was 16 degrees! 16!) I ate it for lunch on Friday and on Sunday. It keeps really well and would probably freeze nicely too.

African Sweet Potato Stew with Red Beans - adapted from Cooking Light Slow Cooker

2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
4 c cubed peeled sweet potato, about 1.5 lbs (1/2 in dice)
1 16 oz can small red beans
2 c vegetable broth (low sodium if possible)
1 chopped red bell pepper
1 tsp grated peeled ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 14.5 oz can diced tomato, drained
1 4.5 oz can chopped green chiles, drained
3 tbs creamy peanut butter
3 tbs chopped dry-roasted peanuts
lime wedges

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Cook 5 min or until tender.
Place onion mixture and next 10 ingredients into slow cooker. Cover and cook on low 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Spoon 1 c cooking liquid into a small bowl. Add peanut butter. Whisk until completely incorporated. Stir mixture into stew. Ladle stew into bowls and garnish with peanuts and lime wedges.

I served this with some rolls I made from refrigerated pizza dough. Super easy and delicious.

Flash Roasted Veggies with Chipotle Tomato Sauce

Again, I apologize for being behind. To make up for it, today you will get two posts! Hooray!

This came from Tuesday night. That was my first day of classes for the semester, so I wanted something that would come together quickly and easily, but still be delicious and hearty, because it was COLD.
This was delicious. We have a big thing for Mexican food this house and well, this is a very Mexican flavored dish. I really liked the sauce, it was spicy without being too hot and it was a complete meal in a casserole dish. I love that. It is a bit like a deconstructed veggie burrito. yum yum yum yum yum! I served this with some sauteed kale, but you certainly don't need to. This is fine all by itself.

Flash-Roasted Vegetables and Rice with Chipotle Tomato Sauce - adapted from Vegetarian Times
Vegetables & Rice:
1 c white rice
2 small zucchini, cut on a bias into 1/4 in slices
2 small yellow squash cut on a bias into 1/4 in. slices
2 small red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1/4 in rings
2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp chili powder
optional -cheese for the top (The recipe calls for queso fresco, I used shredded cheddar because that is what we had.)

Chipotle Tomato Sauce:
2 chipotle chiles in adobo
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5 oz can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 tbs olive oil
1 large white onion, halved and cut 1/4 in thick

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Coat 2 large baking sheets with cooking spray.
Place rice and 2 c cold water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and rice is tender, about 15 min.
Meanwhile, toss together zucchini, squash and bell peppers with oil and chili powder in a large bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheets an roast 20 -25 min or until tender and beginning to brown.

To make Sauce: Blend chipotles, garlic and tomato in blender until almost completely smooth.
Heat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Add onion, and cook 5-7 min or until browned and softened. Stir in tomato mixture, reduce heat to medium and simmer 5 min or until thickened.

To serve: Spread rice in bottom of casserole dish. Top with vegetables then sauce. Sprinkle with cheese.

Moroccan Carrot Salad

I apologize, I am about 3 posts behind. School started this week and I have been lazy. But, never fear! I will catch up in the next few days.
On Monday Bob went out for lunch with a friend and I went out for dinner. I was going to just make a PB&J for lunch, but I thought, this is a great time to make a smaller recipe. This recipe, with a few modifications because of what we had in the house, comes from another one of my favorite blogs 101cookbooks.
It was a nice light, fresh lunch. I used canellini beans, because we were out of chickpeas and I didn't realize it, but I definitely think this would be much better with chickpeas, as the recipe suggests. I think it would have a much nicer texture.  I also used prunes, but this would be great with dates. It would probably be good with dried apricots as well, but they might be a little too sweet.
The dressing is fantastic. I would use it on lots of things.

Moroccan Carrot Salad - adapted from 101cookbooks
Dressing:
1 tbs cumin
1/3c extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Salad:
 3 large carrots shredded on a box grater
 one 15- ounce can canellini beans, drained and rinsed (recipe calls for chickpeas. Use chickpeas if you can)
2/3c prunes cut into small pieces
1/3c fresh mint, torn
For serving:
toasted almond slices,  optional

To make the dressing:
In a bowl or jar, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, ground cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine the carrots, beans, prunes, mint, and almonds, and rose petals (if you're including those as well.) Gently toss until everything is evenly coated. Serve immediately, or cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (You can toss this salad, minus the almonds, hours in advance. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before serving.)

Baked Hush Puppies

Well, last night's recipe was not one of the best. The batter came out wrong. It was too thin, but I was afraid to add too much more flour because I didn't want it to be too heavy. It was heavy any way, an the batter was super think. Maybe it didn't work because hush puppies are supposed to be fried.
Here is the problem. I am scared of frying things. Oh, I can shallow pan fry, but proper deep frying on my stove scares me. I am very accident prone and the idea of having a huge pan of hot oil somewhere that it could spill all over me is slightly terrifying. We love hush puppies, though, and I may just have to get over my fear of frying to make these right.

Baked Hush Puppies - adapted from Vegetarian Times
1 1/2 c fine ground cornmeal
1/2 c cake flour
1Tbs plus 1tsp cane sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt, pus more for sprinkling
1tsp creole seasoning
1 large egg
1c low-fat soy milk
1/2 large sweet onion (1c) finely diced
3/4 c vegetable oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Coat baking sheet with cooking spray.
Whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and creole seasoning. Whisk together egg and milk in a separate bowl. Stir onion into cornmeal mixture, then fold in egg mixture. Shape batter into small balls and place on prepared baking sheet Bake 10 min. Brush tops with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake 3 min more.

Now, as I said, my batter was too thin. I couldn't make these into balls, they ended up being more like johnny cakes. They tasted ok, but they were too heavy since I had added more cornmeal. If you make them and they work out, let me know! I really wanted them to be good.

Roasted Portobello Sandwiches with Parmesan Mayo

 We are back from vacation! Yes, there was a little break there because we were down in Florida enjoying the sun and the 85 degree weather. Now we are back in the cold. So sad.
It was hard to choose what to make for our first dinner back. I didn't want something too heavy because we had been eating lots and lots of food on vacation. And I wanted something with lots of veggies because, as I said, we ate lots of food on vacation.
I settled on Roasted Portobello sandwiches with Parmesan mayo. Substantial enough to feel like a real meal, but light enough that we wouldn't feel overstuffed.
They were pretty good. Not great. They were missing some kind of zing. I am not sure what I would add to them, but they need something.

Roasted Portobello Sandwiches with Parmesan Mayo - from Cooking Light's Fresh Food Fast Cookbook

1 package (6oz) presliced portobello mushrooms
balsamic vinegar
4 slices crusty bread sliced about 1/2 in thick (I used sourdough)
6oz bottle of roasted red bell peppers, drained
1 c baby arugula

Preheat broiler
Place mushrooms on baking sheet and brush with vinegar. Broil 11-12 min or until browned and tender

Spread toasted bread slices with Parmesan Mayo (see below). Top 2 of the slices with about half of the bell peppers and 1/2 c of arugula. Arrange mushrooms over top of arugula. Top with remaining bread slices.

Parmesan Mayo
1/2c light mayonnaise
1 garlic clove, pressed
2tbs grated parmesan cheese
2tbs minced red onion
1/4ts black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl, stirring until well blended.

You will have leftover mayo. I used mine in some egg salad, but you could easily use it on sandwiches or anything else the needs a little zing.

Maple-Glazed Chicken

It's a rare chicken post! Yes, last night we had maple-glazed chicken. This was a good recipe that was made far more complicate than necessary.
First, it calls for bone in skin on chicken breast cut into large chunks. This is completely unnecessary. I'm not sure what the point of having the bone in was, but it doesn't cook long enough to get the flavor from the bone, which is usually the point of having it. It just makes it difficult to eat. If I made this again I would use boneless. Possibly still skin-on, though I don't think that is necessary either. Obviously, if i were to do that I'd cook it for less time.
Next, the apples you add to it were too mushy. The texture was just strange. I would have cooked them for less time, and I might have taken the skin off, or cut them smaller or something. They became a bit difficult to eat because they were being held together by the skin, but they were mushy. Odd.
Finally, I would have cut back on the 'glaze'. There was too much of it and it was too watery. I think I would probably have cut back by about a third.
I did taste good though. There was just something missing. We couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe some fresh parsley or something at the end. If you can figure it out let me know.It was a nice meal for a cold winter evening. I served it with a warm farro salad.

Maple Glazed Chicken

Farro salad

Maple Glazed Chicken - From the Food Network Magazine
2 lbs skin on, bone in chicken breast, cut into large chunks (See above)
kosher salt
2tbs extra virgin olive oil
2 apples cored and cut into wedges
8 medium shallots quartered lengthwise
1/4 c fresh sage, torn
1/2 c chicken broth
1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c apple cider vinegar

Pat chicken dry and season with salt. Heat a large heavy skillet over high heat and add oil. When oil is hot, add chicken skin side down and cook, undisturbed, until browned and crisp, about 5 min.
Turn chicken and add apples, shallots and sage to the skillet. Reduce heat to medium high and cook until chicken is browned on the bottom, 4-5 min. Transfer chicken to plate and continue to cook apples and shallots, stirring until golden, about 2 more minutes. (This is probably where I would have added the apples so they weren't too mushy)

Meanwhile, mix chicken broth, maple syrup, vinegar and a pinch of salt in a small bowl. Add mixture to skillet and boil until reduced by about three quarters - 3-4 min. Return chicken to skillet, turning to coat, and cook until cooked through about 2-3 more minutes.

Tonight we are having leftovers. Because when you are cooking constantly, there are lots of leftovers.

Catfish en Papillote

You can't win them all. This recipe was ok. When it was finally finished. The directions said to cook for 10 to 12 minutes. I thought, 'great, we'll have dinner around 7:30, I'll start the catfish at 7:15. Should be plenty of time.' I was wrong. The fish took almost 30 minutes to complete cooking.
I'm not sure what went wrong. They were not particularly thick cuts of fish. The oven was the correct temperature. I had wrapped the fish en papillote as directed. It just took forever.

Aside from that little snafu, the fish itself wasn't bad. It wasn't great either. I'm not sure I'd put this on the make again list. The papillote is impressive looking, it's a technique I have used before, though that time it came out much better. This looked a lot better on TV than in real life.

Catfish en Papillote - from Guy's Big Bite
Marinade:
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
1/4 teaspoon finely minced garlic
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Peppers:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, julienned
1 medium yellow pepper, cleaned, membrane removed and julienned
1 medium red pepper, cleaned, membrane removed and julienned
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Catfish:
Four 6-to 8-ounce catfish fillets, cleaned and skin removed
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons very finely sliced scallions
1 lemon, cut into wheels

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the marinade: Combine the balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, thyme and garlic in a small mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside until ready for use.

For the peppers: Heat the oil in a medium saute pan over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the onions and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the peppers and continue to cook to just get a little color on the vegetables, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and saute until just fragrant, about 30 seconds. Remove from the heat and reserve.
For the catfish: Take four 12- by 12-inch sheets of parchment paper and place on a clean work surface. Working with one packet at a time, begin by folding a piece of parchment paper in half to make a crease down the middle. Open it back up and spoon about 1/4  of the sauteed peppers and onions onto the middle of the parchment paper. Place a fillet of fish on top. Drizzle 2 tablespoons of the marinade over the top and sprinkle with salt, pepper and a pinch of paprika for color. Fold the parchment back over the fish to enclose. Working from one corner and around the fish to the other corner, make small folds that overlap one another so the packet gets tightly sealed. Continue to fold crease over crease until the packet is sealed. Tuck the last fold under the packet to hold in place.
Repeat with all four packets, and then place on a sheet tray and into the oven. Bake until the packets puff up completely, 10 to 12 minutes. (Or 30 if it is anything like mine. I'd check it after 12, but be prepared to need longer)

before wrapping

wrapped

To serve: Open the parchment packet tops with scissors and garnish with parsley, scallions and lemon wheels.

Black Bean Lasagna

I watch a lot of Food Network. I know, I know, you're shocked. One of the new shows that I didn't think I would like, but I have ended up loving is Trisha's Southern Kitchen, starring none other than singer Trisha Yearwood. She's fun, down to earth and her food is always incredible. When I saw her make black bean lasagna I knew I would be making it.
There is so much about this recipe I love. First, black beans. I love black beans. I could eat them all day long. Second, lasagna. Pasta, sauce and cheese in one easy to eat package? Perfect. Finally, this recipe is vegan! Vegan lasagna you say? That is crazy talk. Oh, it's not. It is delicious.
Bob was more impressed with this recipe than I was. He really liked it. So did I, but I thought there wasn't enough sauce. However, I like my lasagna covered in sauce. If you like more sauce, make the amount that is called for here. It is also a very thick sauce which is different from what I am used to, but quite yummy. Below is the recipe that I made, about half the amount. I would also have cooked it just a bit less than the 45 minutes that was called for. It was a little too crunchy on top.  All in all it was yummy. It was great for lunch this afternoon too.

Black Bean Lasagna - adapted from Trisha's Southern Kitchen

One 15-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano leaves
1 teaspoons salt, plus more for pasta
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 small onion, finely chopped
One 15-ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
8 ounces lasagna noodles
1 recipe Tofu Ricotta, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large saucepan, combine the everything except the lasagna noodles and the tofu ricotta. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, and then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the lasagna noodles and cook to al dente according to package directions. Drain the noodles well.

Spread 1 cup of the prepared sauce in a 8x8 baking pan. Make three layers each of noodles, sauce and Tofu Ricotta. End with the sauce and make sure the noodles are completely covered or they will dry out during baking. 
Bake for 45 minutes, uncovered. Allow the dish to stand for 15 minutes before cutting into squares and serving. 

Tofu Ricotta
1/4 cup raw cashews, finely ground
14 ounces extra-firm tofu, drained and pressed  (To press, drain liquid from tofu. Fold paper towels around the tofu and then set a big wrought iron skillet on top of it to press out the excess moisture. Allow to sit for about an hour to press.)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil, or 1 tablespoon dried basil
Salt and pepper 

Add the cashews to a food processor and grind them. Then crumble in the tofu, and add the yeast, olive oil and basil. (I do all of this in the food processor. I don't mind the smoother consistency for the lasagna and  I find that it is just simpler to do it all in the food processor.If you want it to be more of a ricotta consistency you should use a fork to mix in and break up the tofu.) Season with salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container in the fridge until ready to use. Keeps well for at least a week. Yield: about 2 1/2 cups. 

Tofu Ricotta

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

I finally felt good enough last night to make dinner. Thank goodness. It has been a pretty crappy few days.
We had Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. They were adapted from this recipe. Adapted mainly because I didn't have all the things I needed to make them and I didn't feel like going to the store. Also because I had some stuff in my fridge I wanted to use. My version is a little more suited to our tastes. You could definitely add different veggies, you may need to adjust your cooking time. Basically, the veggies should be just done. They should have a bit of a bite to them, not mushy. Below is the recipe with my adaptations.
If you have never had quinoa you're missing out. It's delicious. It's an ancient whole grain and is a fantastic source of protein. I think it has a nice nutty taste. It is one of my favorite foods and it is good for you! I think you'll love it.
Again, I cut the recipe in half because there is only two of us. Most recipes are fine being halved like that.

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers - adapted from Rachel Ray's Week in a Day
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup vegetable stock
2 bell peppers, mixed colors, seeded and halved
11/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small firm eggplant, trimmed of half the skin, diced
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small firm zucchini, seeded and diced
1 small firm yellow squash, seeded and diced
1 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried marjoram

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
Bring the quinoa and stock to a boil. Cover and simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the grain looks translucent, 12 to 15 minutes. 
Drizzle the bell pepper halves with extra virgin olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Roast cut-side down until the skins begin to char and the peppers are just tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly, then arrange in a baking dish cut-side up. 

Meanwhile, heat 11/2 tbs extra virgin olive oil, over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, eggplant, zucchini, squash, onions and red pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook partially covered to tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the herbs and stir in quinoa.
Fill the pepper halves with the quinoa and vegetable stuffing. Serve the pepper halves topped with Parmesan cheese.

I didn't add cheese to mine and it was still quite yummy. I did add a nice grind of sea salt over the top and that was really good. This has a good bit of spice, so if you don't want too much of a bite, cut back on the red pepper flakes. Aside from all the chopping this was actually a pretty simple meal and it came together pretty quickly once everything got going. I served them with just a side of steamed spinach. 
Just a note, the red peppers I had were the long and thin kind, not great for stuffing. They looked pretty, but they were kind of messy. (As you can see from the picture below)

Pizza Night

Yesterday was pizza night. I still have a stomach flu. It took me 20 minutes to eat one slice of pizza with most of the toppings off. But that is better than the saltines I had been eating. I'm hoping I'll be able to cook (and eat) tonight.

Mushroom Bourguignon

I have to apologize. This is only the third recipe in the challenge and I'm already behind.  I have a good excuse, I promise! I have the flu. Yesterday all I did was sit on the couch and drink ginger ale and eat crackers. I couldn't even think about writing a blog, nevermind cooking. The challenge rules were amended to state that if I can't look at food without feeling ill I don't have to cook. Good plan.
I'm still not feeling well, so the odds are that there won't be a recipe tonight either, but I can get this blog written for you.

The recipe from the third night of the challenge is Mushroom Bourginon. Once again this is from the smitten kitchen cookbook. Just buy it already! (I should get commission...) I don't know what the rules are about the copyrights for recipes, so if you are enjoying the recipes I make out of this book, please do buy it. If it helps the entire last third of the book is dedicated to sweets.
This was so much better than I thought it would be. It was rich and yummy and you wouldn't have known there was no meat in it. Bob was really impressed. It was so satisfying. Because there are only two of us I cut the recipe in half and it was the perfect amount. I did add quite a bit of black pepper because we like the spice, but season it to your taste. Serve it over yummy egg noodles.

Mushroom Bourguignon - the smitten kitchen cookbook
As I said, I cut the amounts in half for the two of us, it worked really well. This recipe will serve 4.

2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs softened butter (Since I am lactose intolerant I use Earth Balance margarine in place of butter)
2 lbs portobello or crimini mushrooms (I used crimini)
1 c. pearl onions peeled, thawed if frozen
1/2 carrot finely diced
1 small yellow onion, finely diced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
salt and pepper
2 minced garlic cloves
1 c. full bodied red wine (I used a pinot noir)
2 tbs tomato paste
2 c vegetable stock
11/2 tbs all-purpose flour

Heat 1 tbs oil and 1tbs butter in heavy saucepan over high heat. Sear mushrooms and pearl onion just until they begin to take on some color, about 3-4 min. Remove from pan and set aside.

Lower flame to medium, add second tablespoon of olive oil. Add carrot, onion, thyme, a few pinches of salt and pepper to the pan and cook for 5 min, stirring occasionally, until the onion is lightly browned. Add garlic and cook for one more minute. Seasons with salt and pepper.
Add wine to pot, scraping any stuck bits off the bottom, then turn heat all the way up and reduce it by half. This should take about 4 - 5 minutes. Stir in stock and tomato paste. Add back mushrooms and pearl onions with any juices that have collected and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature so it simmers for 10-15 minutes or until mushrooms and onions are very tender.

Combine flour and remaining butter with a fork; stir this into the stew. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Lower the heat, simmer for 10 more minutes. If sauce is too thin, boil it down to reduce to a "coating" consistency. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Serve over egg noodles, dollop with sour cream, if desired and sprinkle with chives or parsley.

 

Panini and soup

It has finally gotten really cold here and there is nothing better than soup and a sandwich to warm up your belly. Bob wasn't feeling well yesterday, so soup seemed appropriate. Both of these recipes are new. I was a slight overachiever. 

I love broccoli rabe. It's delicious. Normally I roast it, but this sandwich is so good. The mix of the bitter greens with the creamy mozzarella and the spicy red pepper flakes and onion...heaven.  I'm eating the leftovers for lunch. I just dumped that broccoli rabe into the soup and served it up with some bread. yum. yum. yum.

The soup recipe comes from Martha Stewart. You can find it here. I tripled the recipe, because the turkey I had was 1.3 lbs. Who can get half a pound of turkey? I would have made this vegetarian, just adding more veggies or some soy crumbles, but since the hubs was not feeling well, I though I'd go with that ole wives tale of chicken (turkey) soup making you feel better. A few notes on the soup. I made half of it without barley because I didn't want all those carbs. When I went to freeze the soup I just mixed both together so there was less barley in the combined soup. If you want to make it vegetarian use soy crumbles,or just add lots more veggies.

soup cooking

The panini are from my new favorite cookbook - the smitten kitchen cookbook. The book that started the challenge. If you like food just buy this book. Seriously. Everything is amazing. Just buy it.
Broccoli rabe panini with mozzarella - from the smitten kitchen cookbook
This also gave me an opportunity to use my new panini grill pan that I got from my in-laws for Christmas. Fun!
1 lb. broccoli rabe
1 tbs. butter
1 tbs. olive oil, plus more for brushing bread
1/2 medium yellow onion diced small (I used one small onion)
1 medium garlic clove, minced (I used jarred garlic. I'm lazy)
Pinch of red pepper flakes (my pinch was pretty large. I like the spice)
Two four-inch lengths from a flat ciabatta loaf, halved
1/4 lb. thinly sliced fresh mozzarella (I cheated here. I used shredded from a bag, because it is lactose free. It was still really good. It probably would have been better with the fresh)
Remove and discard broccoli rabe's stems. Cut leaves into half inch ribbons. Leave small florets whole, but halve larger ones. (Again, I'm lazy. I just sliced the whole head in 1/2 in ribbons. I didn't bother separating the florets)

Heat butter and 1 tbs olive oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until onion is a bit brown on the edges, about 7 min. Increase heat to medium high and add rabe, garlic, pepper flakes and saute until greens are tender and wilted, about 4 min. Season with salt and pepper. You should have about 1 1/2 cups of the mixture.

before

after

Heat grill pan or panini press. Brush the outsides of the ciabatta with olive oil. Place bottom pieces on pan and top with half of  broccoli rabe and half of mozzarella slices. 

Arrange tops on top. Lower top of panini press or an additional frying pan onto top of sandwich. Cook for 4-8 min, until bottom is toasted. Carefully flip and grill other side for 3-5 min. 
Carefully cut in half and eat while still hot.

This was the perfect cold weather meal. Happy. Comforting. Cozy.

New Years Eve Scallops

Appropriately enough, the challenge began on New Years Eve.
We always stay in on New Years Eve. I make a nice dinner and we watch a movie, maybe fall asleep on the couch. Around 11:30 we turn on "Dick Clark's New Years Rocking Eve featuring Ryan Seacrest" and pop open the good champagne and ring in the New Year. This year it was the beginning of the recipe challenge.
This recipe came from a cookbook my mother had that was published by a restaurant called Blue Stove. Blue Stove serves the most delicious small plates I have ever had. Blue Stove is located in the middle of Nordstrom in the Burlington Mall in Burlington, MA. That's right. A nice, hip restaurant in the middle of the juniors department in a department store in the middle of the mall! Who would have thought? This dish is my mother's favorite from the restaurant and is the first time I have ever cooked scallops. Not as easy as you may think.
It took a little while for the risotto to be done, and my arm was tired from all that stirring, but it was worth it. It was fantastic.
The recipe says it makes enough for 4 for a main dish or 6 for an appetizer. I agree that the risotto made enough for that, but I made 6 scallops and we could have each happily eaten another one. I'd say if you're making it for two people, keep the number of scallops at 8, but cut the risotto amount in half, unless you want lots of leftovers. If you're making it for four people, you may want to make more scallops.

Lemon Scented Risotto with Seared Scallops and Green Beans - taken from the Blue Stove cookbook
6oz small green beans trimmed and cut in half
6 c chicken broth (I used vegetable broth)
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1/2 yellow onion chopped
2 c arborio rice
1/2 c dry white wine
1/2 c fresh grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving
2 tbs unsalted butter
Salt & pepper
8 very large sea scallops, side muscle removed, patted dry
3 tbs fresh lemon juice (I didn't measure this. I just used the juice of one lemon.)

Bring med saucepan of salted water to a boil over high heat, add beans and cook about
1 min. Drain, rinse under cold water, and pat with paper towels.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat 450. Bring broth to a simmer in saucepan
over medium high heat, reduce to low to keep warm.
Heat 2 tbs oil in deep wide saucepan or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion
and cook, stirring occasionally until translucent, about 3 min. Add rice and stir until
kernels are covered with oil and rice feels heavy in the spoon, about 2 min. Add wine
and cook, stirring occasionally until wine has almost evaporated.
Add 1/2 c hot broth to rice and cook, stirring frequently, until rice has almost completely
absorbed. Adjust to medium low to keep risotto at steady slow simmer.
Continue adding broth, 1/2 c at a time, stirring until the broth is almost completely
absorbed before adding the next addition and 1/4 c for final addition. After about 18 min
the rice grains should be creamy, plump and cooked through but still slightly chewy.
If you run out of broth before this, use hot water. (I just used more broth. I needed about 1/2 c more than the recipe called for) Stir in 1/2 c Parmesan along with butter.
Season with salt and pepper
About 5 min before risotto is finished, heat remaining 2 tbs oil in large ovenproof skillet over medium high heat until very hot, but not smoking. Season scallops with salt and pepper on both
sides. Add scallops, flat side down, to skillet. Cook until undersides are browned,
about 1.5 min. Turn and brown other side about 1.5 min longer. Scatter green beans
over and around scallops and place skillet in oven and cook until barely opaque when
pierced in the center with the tip of a small knife and beans are heated trough 2-3 min.
Season lightly with salt and pepper set aside.
Just before serving, stir remaining 1/5 c broth and lemon juice into risotto. Season
divide evenly among warmed shallow bowls. Top with equal amount of scallops and
green beans. Serve hot.

I finished the risotto and then cooked the scallops. It was ok to leave it for the 5 minutes you need to make the scallops. Especially since you stir in that last bit of broth at the end. I also used the zest from the lemon to garnish the plates and make it pretty.

This dish was delicious. It was much lighter than we thought it would be, but filling. It was a perfect way to ring in the new year. As I said, we could have eaten more scallops and had to stop ourselves from eating all the risotto. A couple of the scallops were a bit overcooked. They are very delicate and it is hard to know when they are done. I left them in for a minute longer than the recipe called for and it was just too much. They still tasted good, the texture was just not quite right. We drank a bottle of dry white wine with this. It paired perfectly.
Then we opened the bubbly.

Happy New Year!

The Challenge

For Christmas I received a cookbook written by one of my favorite food bloggers, Deb Perelman. Her blog, smitten kitchen, is one I read all the time. As I looked through the cookbook, I said to my husband, 'I don't know what to make first! It's all delicious!" And thus was born the challenge.
My husband has challenged me to make a new recipe every day in January. And I have accepted.
Here are the rules:
1) At least one item on the menu must be a brand new recipe, not a derivative of something I have made before.
2) That item can be the main course, or a side dish.
3) If I make up a recipe myself it has to have at least 3 different components from anything I have made before.
4) The challenge does not apply if we have company over for dinner that we want to impress -  some people do get to be guinea pigs.
5) Sometimes we can just order pizza. Or thai. A girl needs her red curry. (Though, I have never made that...)
 

This blog will follow the challenge. I'll post pictures and recipes and links. A note: you won't see many recipes featuring meat here. I'm not exactly a vegetarian. I don't eat red meat or pork and I don't eat poultry that often. I'm lactose intolerant, so you won't see much dairy. I do eat fish, eggs and occasional cheese. I only use non-dairy milks. You'll find the majority of the recipes I try are vegetarian or vegan. Some of them will be adapted from recipes with meat, so I'll include that note with the recipe when I make it.
Everyone I've mentioned the challenge to has been excited by it and I'm excited to share it with you. If you have recipes you have always wanted to try, but haven't gotten around to, send them to me and I'll see what I can do.
Let the games begin.