ROASTED CARROTS AND SHALLOTS

Vegetables—one of my favorites foods. Try this recipe and see whether you don't agree that carrots are delightful. These are a nice addition to a Thanksgiving table.

Roasted  Carrots and Shallots
Serves 8

2 pounds carrots, peeled with stem ends removed

12 small to medium-sized shallots

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

4 tablespoons butter, melted

½ teaspoon salt plus more to taste

¼ ground black pepper plus more to taste

1. Cut carrots in half crosswise. Then lengthwise halve the fatter halves. Place in medium-large bowl.

2. To carrots, add shallots, thyme, butter, measured salt and pepper. Toss.

3. Line rimmed large baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Place carrots in single layer on top of lining.

4. Cover baking sheet tightly with foil. Cook on middle rack of oven heated to 425°F. for 10 minutes.

5. Remove foil; continue to cook, stirring every 10 minutes, for 20 to 30 minutes or until carrots are both well-browned and tender. Toss with more salt and pepper if desired.

NOTE: Carrots are delicious hot, warm, or at room temperature.

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS
2 medium fresh poblano or Anaheim chile peppers, roasted
1 small sweet red pepper, roasted
2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups Green Giant white corn niblets, drained
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 can green chiles, drained well
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• Preheat oven to 425˚.
• Grease 6 six ounce ramekins.
• Place ramekins in a 13x9 baking dish.
• In a large bowl combine eggs and cream.
• Fold in peppers, corn, chicken, cheese, bread crumbs, chives, chili powder, salt and pepper.
• Pour mixture evenly into ramekins.
• Place baking dish on center rack in the middle of the oven.
• Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
• Remove ramekins from water and serve on plates.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Delicious made with creminis, also known as baby portobellos.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

Serves 4

5 cups sliced fresh mushrooms or about 1 pound

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots or about 1 very large

1/8 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth or a 14-ounce can

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup half-and-half

1 tablespoon sherry

1. In a 4-quart heavy saucepan, cook mushrooms, shallots and thyme in chicken or vegetable broth.

2. Using an immersible blender, regular blender, or food processor, purée the mixture, leaving some chunks in it. Set aside.

3. In the saucepan, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour until smooth.

4. Add salt, pepper, half-and-half, and mushroom purée.

5. Stirring constantly, bring soup to a boil and cook until thickened.

6. Add sherry and then adjust seasoning to taste.

NOTE: If using an immersible blender, then leave mushroom purée in pan and do Step 3 in a different, smaller pan. Then do Step 4 without adding mushroom purée. Then add white sauce to mushroom purée and continue with recipe.

Creminis, also known as baby portobellos, are delicious in this soup.

Salsa Verde

Without further ado, my assignment for the Secret Recipe Club this month was:

What's Brewing in the Kitchen

Amy has many tempting recipes, including the Puffy Apple Pancake (quite similar to my Baked Pancake, but with apples!), Baked Vanilla Doughnuts (doughnuts, again?!!), and Pollo al Chilindron.  In the end, I ran across this Salsa Verde recipe (link below), and I had to make it for several reasons:

• It is one of Rick's recipes.  
• I love salsa verde, but I have never made it.   
• Reading the recipe made me crave it, so I ran to the store for tomatillos and chips!  

I doubled it from the start, except I left out half of the water.  Below is the double batch recipe, follow the link for Amy's proportions. This recipe is easy to put together, and tastes fresh and delicious!  Enjoy some today!

Salsa Verde

makes about 2 cups

from FoodNetwork.com via What's Brewing in the Kitchen

1 pound (10 to 12 medium) tomatillos, husked and rinsed
2 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded
10 or 12 sprigs fresh cilantro, roughly chopped 

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup water
coarse salt
 

Roughly chop the tomatillos and the chiles.
 
In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatillos, chiles, cilantro and water. Pulse briefly to a coarse puree; scrape down sides.  


Rinse the onion under cold water, then shake to remove excess moisture. Pulse a couple times into the salsa, then scrape into a serving dish.
 
Season with salt to taste.

Taste & Create: Gobi Masala/Cauliflower Curry

***Taste & Create is a fabulous monthly blog event in which participants are randomly paired off to choose and prepare a dish from their partner's blog. If you'd like to join us, please email me at cowgirlmin07 [at] gmail [dot] com by the 8th of the month!! *** 

 

This month I was paired with PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds.  I love being paired with her, because she cooks delicious authentic Indian dishes, and her directions are quite easy to follow, once you figure out all the ingredients!  ;-)  Her blog is vegetarian, which is a welcome change from our usual fare.

Usually it takes me a while to choose which dish to prepare, but not this time.  This time I had just purchased an entire cauliflower, when I happened across this masala recipe!  It looked so good, and I had most of the spices, so I went for it.  I forgot that you can substitute basil for curry leaves, and used parsley instead.  Still good~

It's important with this dish to have your ingredients prepped before you start cooking, so everything is ready to toss in at the proper time.  Aside from that, it's pretty easy, and delicious!

Although PJ recommends serving with roti, we used tortillas because we always have them on hand.  Follow the link below for PJ's helpful step-by-step photos and many more yummy vegetarian recipes!

  

Gobi Masala/Cauliflower Curry

Serves 4-6

 
1 medium cauliflower

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons oil

1 teaspoon fennel (anise) seeds

1 small onion, sliced

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
a few curry leaves (I used flat Italian parsley) 

1 tomato, chopped (I forgot the tomato, so I added 1 can diced tomato, drained)

1 teaspoon garam masala

1 teaspoon red chili powder (I reduced to 1/2 teaspoon)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

salt, to taste

1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek) or celery leaves (I didn't have either of these, so I didn't add anything) 

Break cauliflower into florets in a large bowl.  Let it rest in hot water .Add a tablespoon of salt to that water and keep aside.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a pan and add fennel seeds.  When the fennel seeds sizzle, add onion, garlic, ginger, and a few curry leaves to the pan.  Saute until the onions turn soft.

Add 1 chopped tomato and cook till the tomato is mushy. Add garam masala, red chili powder, coriander, turmeric, and salt to taste.  Mix well. 

Discard the water that has the cauliflower and add the florets to the pan.  Mix well and add 1 cup of water. Cover and cook till the florets are soft but not mushy.  Stir a couple of times in between to prevent burning the florets and masala, add more water if needed.

When the cauliflower is cooked add 1 tablespoon kasuri methi.  Mix well and simmer over low heat for a few minutes. 

Serve with rice and tortillas.

***Visit Taste & Create to see what everyone else has made this month!***

Taste & Create: Puff Pastry with Poornam Filling

*Taste & Create is an amazing monthly food blog event, created by my friend Nicole of For the Love of Food. Participants are paired up randomly, and each create a recipe from their partner's blog! It is so fun! Please join us.

The deadline to sign up is the 8th day of each month, email me at cowgirlmin07[at]gmail[dot]com if you're interested!

For the month of March, I was paired with Jayanthi of  Sizzling Veggies.  I am so embarrassed that I have let this go for so long.  I'm not trying to make excuses about it, I just had a lot going on and did not get it done.  I had originally planned on making Jayanthi's Cabbage Koftas in Malai Gravy or her Baked Bread Koftas in Spinach Gravy, and one day I will probably make both of those!  All of her recipes sound so wonderful.

When it came right down to it though, I ended up choosing her Puff Pastry with Poornam Filling.  I have a huge container of jaggery for which I am always looking for uses, and I am a sucker for coconut.  Add cardamom to the ingredient list, and you didn't have to ask me twice!

These are interesting...I think they are good, but I'm not a huge fan.  They are sort of like chewy caramel with coconut in pastry.  My mother-in-law and my oldest son LOVE them.  Mixed responses from a couple neighbors and the rest of the family.  Maybe they are an acquired taste if you don't absolutely love them the first time? Also, mine look nothing like Jayanthi's...follow the link to see what they are probably supposed to look like!  ;-)

Puff Pastry with Poornam Filling

1/3 cup jaggery
1/3 cup shredded coconut (I used raw dried coconut, perhaps the smaller shred of the sweetened coconut would have worked better?)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
a pinch of cardamon powder
1 puff pastry sheet

Thaw frozen puff pastry sheet for 40 minutes at room temperature before starting this recipe.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper in case the poornam filling oozes out.

In a small pan, add jaggery powder with 2 tablespoons of water. Let the jaggery dissolve in the water and bring to a boil. Add cardamon powder and coconut and mix well. Let the jaggery and coconut filling thicken over medium-low heat.  I reduced until the liquid was almost gone.

Add sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Keep stirring until the poornam filling is thick and holds together.  You may want to reduce the heat during this step.

When pastry sheet has thawed, cut dough into circles. (not knowing exactly how big, I made mine about 3" diameter with a glass).  Roll the dough with a rolling pin (I flattened mine out with my fingers) and place a tablespoon of filling in the center.

Take two opposite ends of the circle and while holding this, pleat the entire outer part of the circle to form a shape of modakam.  (I have no idea what shape a modakam is, so I went by looking at Jayanthi's photos on her original post, see link above, and really just pleated around the outside to sort of hold in the filling)

Repeat steps 4 and 5 with other pastries. Jayanthi made 9 modakams with the given poornam filling measurements, I ended up with 11. 

 Bake the pastries in the oven till they turn golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Vegetable Quinoa Salad

This is a delicious salad that I've made several times now, most recently for a luncheon that I catered.  It paired well with this Watermelon and Citrus Salad with Mint, is perfect for a protein-packed light lunch or dinner, and is also quite good on top of hummus in a pita!

We love it.  I found this and other fabulous recipes compiled in Alisa's FREE eCookbook, Smart School Time Recipes. The recipe is by Marta of Yummy Veggies, and it is a keeper!  My changes are below, in italics.  Incidentally, I quadrupled (or perhaps quintupled??, I've forgotten now) this recipe, and I believe it would have served almost 50 people!  The original recipe says that it serves 4, but with all the vegetables I'd say it serves more.  You decide.  Anyway, the leftovers keep well, so it doesn't matter!

~~~Picture soon!~~~

Yummy Veggie Quinoa Salad

Salad:
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed (I mince)
1 cup dry quinoa
2 cups water (or vegetable broth and omit chicken-like seasoning)
1 tablespoon chicken-like seasoning (I found this weird, Vegan wet-sand-like bouillon called "Not Chick'n" and used 1 cube per 2 cups water)
1 cup edamame (soy beans, usually frozen, you'll need to shell them, but if you can find frozen mukimame they're already shelled!)
1 cup frozen corn
1 red onion (I omitted this)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 to 3 carrots, diced

Dressing:
juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro (optional, but don't use dried)*I omit this
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (optional, I prefer flat Italian parsley)
1 teaspoon sea salt

Add the 1 tablespoon of olive oil, garlic and dried quinoa to a nonstick skillet (that has a lid).  Allow to brown on medium-high heat for about 2 to 5 minutes.  Add water and chicken-like seasoning and turn to high.  Once it boils, turn heat down and cover.  Allow to cook about 15 minutes (this time keeps the quinoa a bit al dente).  You can add the shelled edamame and corn when you have about 7 minutes left.  Once the quinoa is cooked, remove from heat and remove lid, allowing it to cool.

*I'm not sure if it was the quantity of quinoa I was cooking, but I did need to add about 10 minutes to the cooking time, and even then there was a lot of liquid left...*

Meanwhile, chop up the fresh vegetables and set aside.  Marta likes the vegetables small, and I agree, maybe the size of a kernel of corn, but you can decide how you like it best.  Mix up the dressing (I use a jar with a lid) and set aside.  Once quinoa is cool, toss all together and serve.

*This keeps so well in the refrigerator that it can be prepared a day in advance.  To serve, I garnished with a few sprigs of Italian parsley.

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage

I don't recall ever trying one of Emeril's recipes before. I could be wrong, but I know I don't have any of his cookbooks, and I just can't think of one that I've tried. This recipe came from Everyday Food magazine, which you know I love.

Anyway, it's a great, easy recipe, and you likely have almost everything you need in your pantry. All I had to buy was fresh broccoli and I happened to be out of sausage. That's it! I will be looking more closely at Emeril's recipes too after this one...

It has a secret ingredient, which I haven't told anyone about, because people have such strong feelings about it. We've made it two or three times already! I took a batch of this pasta to a Boy Scout banquet last week, and more than one person liked it. A friend of ours even asked for the recipe, which I planned on posting here regardless.

We LOVE it. At least Number One and I do. H-Bomb picks out the sausage, Sawed Off picks out the broccoli, they trade and everyone is happy!

The text in the magazine says, "Anchovies are the secret ingredient in this dish. They give it a deep, savory flavor without a bit of fishiness, so if you're tempted to skip them, don't." I agree, DON'T. I have actually used an entire tin in one batch of the pasta, although for the banquet I stuck to the 4 fillets. The first time you make this, unless you're a huge fan of those little fishes, you should probably use 4 fillets. But a whole tin is delicious too!


On to the recipe. Enjoy!

Pasta with Broccoli and Sausage
Serves 6
Active time: 25 minutes
Total time: 50 minutes

coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound pasta (Emeril uses rigatoni, we've used penne, farfalle, etc.)
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets (about 4 cups)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 anchovy fillets, minced
1 pound Italian sausage (I just use a package of Jimmy Dean's Italian)
Parmesan, grated, for serving

In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. In last 2 minutes of cooking, add broccoli and cook until bright green and crisp-tender. (just cook for the 2 minutes) Carefully reserve 1 cup pasta water; drain pasta and broccoli.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, anchovies, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add sausage to empty pasta pot and cook over medium-high, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until browned and coked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, return pasta and broccoli to pot, and add oil mixture. Toss well to combine, adding enough pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta (I usually end up using about 1/2 cup water). Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes

This is a delicious, quick dinner to pull together on a weeknight, or any night you'd like a savory, exotic and nutritious meal.

I had a huge chicken breast in the freezer, so I just diced that instead of using thighs and proceeded with the recipe. The rest of my notes are in italics, as usual. I served this with rice. The stew improves with time, so it's great if you have some leftover. Incidentally, I didn't remove the cinnamon stick or ginger, I just left it in the pot and in the container we stored the leftover stew in.

I will probably try freezing this meal and see how it does.



Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatoes
Everyday Food, October 2007
Prep Time 15 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Serves 4

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil (I needed more oil before adding onions to pot)
1 medium onion, diced
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
1 cinnamon stick
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth (I used 1 1/2 cans)
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Pinch of saffron, (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 cup couscous or rice
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Heat 1 more tablespoon oil in the pot. Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken to pot. Add broth, sweet potatoes, and, if using, saffron. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.

While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Serve chicken stew with couscous, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

Roasted Salmon with Lentils

We have one boy, H-Bomb, who LOVES salmon (and all seafood!) and one boy, Sawed Off, who doesn't like salmon at all. We keep serving it. Last night, when I served up this roasted salmon with lentils, Sawed Off immediately said he doesn't like salmon, he didn't want to eat salmon, etc. complain etc. I asked him if he wanted sauce. He said no. Then I poured sauce on his dad's salmon, and Sawed Off said, "That sauce smells good." So I asked him if he wanted the sauce on the side or on top, and he said on top!

Sawed Off ATE that salmon and loved it, and even asked for more sauce on top! Give this recipe a try, even if someone in your family has mixed feelings about salmon. You might be surprised. And if you like salmon, try this recipe, it's a good one!



Roasted Salmon with Lentils
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 45 minutes
Serves 4

3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 large celery stalk, chopped
(I also added 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, minced
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
4 skinless salmon fillets (6 ounces each)
nonstick cooking spray

Combine the lentils and 2 1/2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. Add the onion, celery (and carrot); cover, and continue cooking until the lentils and vegetables are just tender, 15 to 25 minutes more. Drain, reserving the cooking liquid. Transfer the lentil mixture to a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the reserved cooking liquid with the vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic and parsley; season with salt and pepper. *I prepped all these ingredients while the lentils were cooking, then added the cooking liquid at the end.* Toss half the dressing with the lentil mixture.

Heat the broiler. Season the salmon with salt and pepper. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Arrange the salmon on the sheet; broil until opaque throughout, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon the lentils onto 4 plates; top with the salmon, flaking it into large pieces, if desired. Drizzle with the remaining dressing.

This recipe comes from a weeknight favorite of mine, Everday Food: Great Food Fast.

It's a great cookbook for fairly last-minute dinners, and I turn to it often.

Mushroom Turnovers with Sour Cream

As soon as I received my Dinner Tonight email, I said "Mushroom Turnovers with Sour Cream" out loud, and H-Bomb said, "Can you make those for dinner tonight??" We had everything except mushrooms and sour cream, and I was planning on going to the store anyway, so I said yes! I ended up with some white button mushrooms, cremini and a couple portabellos (H-Bomb's favorite mushroom). I weighed the mushrooms to equal about 20 ounces, because none of them were in the right size package, of course.

Easy to put together, the hardest part was rolling out the pastry dough evenly enough to make four turnovers of roughly equal size. I didn't trim the edges of the dough, honestly with my poor rolling I needed all the dough I could get!

These are quick, savory and delicious! Three out of four family members finished their dinner. We served them with edamame and green peas (each boy requested each vegetable) to green things up.


Mushroom Turnovers with Sour Cream

From Everyday Food, November 2008

Our flaky stuffed pastries are a vegetarian main that's easy and elegant. Store-bought puff pastry makes quick work of these savory turnovers that require only five ingredients.

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Serves 4

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
4 packages (5 ounces each) mixed mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (from a 17.3-ounce box), thawed
1/2 cup sour cream, for serving

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 5 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms; cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; set aside.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out dough (still folded in thirds) to a 20-by-10-inch rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, trim edges straight; cut dough into four 10-by-5-inch rectangles. Dividing evenly, mound mushroom mixture on one half of each rectangle, leaving a 1/2-inch border on three sides. Lightly brush border with water; fold other half of pastry over filling, and press edges firmly to seal. With a floured fork, crimp edges.

Using a wide metal spatula, transfer turnovers to a large baking sheet. With a paring knife, cut 3 to 4 small slits in the top of each turnover. Bake until golden and puffed, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; serve turnovers with sour cream.

Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta Sauce

This recipe is inspired by part of a gift we received from our good friends Alice and Doug as a housewarming gift two years ago: A jar of Williams-Sonoma Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta Sauce. The jar said, " A rich, creamy sauce featuring pumpkin and aged Parmesan cheese seasoned with caramelized onions, roasted garlic and sage." It was delicious. I wrote down the ingredients so I could try to make it from scratch, because there is no Williams-Sonoma anywhere near here.

I didn't end up using all the same ingredients, (namely water and butternut squash) and of course there aren't amounts on a jar of sauce from the store. So this is my own creation, inspired by Williams-Sonoma. I used leftover fresh pumpkin puree I had in the freezer from last year's Halloween!


Number One proclaimed, "This tastes like fall." H-Bomb, after initially saying he didn't want sauce, said he loved it. Sawed Off ate it, but wouldn't commit to liking it. I thought it was delicious, and I'm proud to say the sauce turned out on the very first try!

While it's not as orange or quite as smooth as the jarred sauce was, I can say that I know exactly what is in it, and we liked it!

Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta Sauce
Serves 6 to 8 (I'm sort of guessing because we had a lot of leftovers)

1 pound spaghetti or pasta of your choice

2 tablespoons butter
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
3 cups roasted pumpkin puree
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sage leaves
1 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon lemon juice
grated Parmesan, to serve

Put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.

In a large pan, saute onions and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat, until onions are translucent and just starting to brown. Stir in chicken broth and heat. Stir in pumpkin puree and spices, then simmer on low while preparing your pasta as directed. (I actually simmered my puree for about 20 minutes, because it had been frozen and needed to simmer out some of the water.)

Whisk half-and-half into the pumpkin mixture, and heat gently. Stir in Parmesan, adding more if desired. Minutes before serving, stir in lemon juice.

Drain pasta and place in large bowl, pour sauce on top of pasta. Serve with more freshly grated Parmesan on top, if desired.

Carrot Pie

I told you I was going to make this pie! I found the recipe on Melynda's food blog, Mom's Sunday Cafe, during a recent Taste & Create event. I knew I had to try it, and now my parents are visiting, and the time is right!


This is a wonderful pie, spiced like pumpkin pie. Yum. We served ours with whipped cream. My 8-year-old boy said, "I love how smooth the pie is, just like whipped cream!" We all enjoyed it, and I will definitely be making this again!


Carrot Pie
from Mom's Sunday Cafe, originally a part of the Family Circle "best of the best" series makes 1 9" pie, serves 8-10

1 pound carrots, peeled, sliced and cooked - about 2 1/2 cups
1 3/4 c milk - Melynda prefers a large can of evaporated milk and fresh milk to equal the requested amount, and that's what I did too.
1/2 c sugar
1 egg
1 t salt
1/2 t each cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg

1 9 inch pie shell - recipe follows or use your own favorite, assemble the crust while carrots cook
Cook in plain water until tender, drain well. While carrots are cooking you can make the pie crust.

1 9" Pie crust

1 1/4 c flour

1/4 t salt

1 1/2 t sugar

6 T butter

2 ice cubes and 1/3 c water in a cup

Combine all crust ingredients except water, cutting in with a pastry blender (or 2 butter knives) until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Using a teaspoon, dribble ice water over the flour mixture and toss together with a fork. Continue dribbling water and tossing together until mixture begins clinging together, taking care not to use any more water than is necessary. Roll out, ease into your 9 inch pie pan and proceed with pie instructions.

To finish the pie, in blender cup, combine the cooked and drained carrots along with the milk, buzz to combine. This will completely cool the carrots, add the remaining ingredients and continue to process until smooth. Pour into pie shell.

Bake 450 degrees 15 minutes, reduce heat to 300 degrees, continue baking 45-50 minutes, or until done. Let cool, serve with whipped cream and a fresh dusting of nutmeg.

Taste & Create: Carrot Hummus

Taste & Create is a monthly food blog event, created by my friend Nicole of For the Love of Food. Participants are randomly paired, and must choose and create a recipe from their partner's blog. It is FUN. If you'd like to sign up, check out How it Works or email me at cowgirlmin07[at]gmail[dot]com by the 8th of every month!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My partner for this month was Melynda of Mom's Sunday Cafe. I really thought I knew what I was going to make. I had (still have) a bunch of plums in the drawer in my fridge, and I was going to make Melynda's plum jam with port wine. And I still will. But time has gotten so far away from me, I don't even know where to look for it. And then I kept going back to Mom's Sunday Cafe for one more look around...and after that, I couldn't decide!

Now here it is, past the deadline, but I just ran across a couple more intriguing recipes! Have you ever heard of Carrot Pie? I haven't, but I am totally going to make one. When my parents are in town in a couple weeks, because I think my dad will really like it. So that won't do for THIS month's Taste & Create. However, I also found this recipe: Carrot Hummus. I love hummus, my boys love carrots, it sounds perfect for us. Here we go.

I realized I didn't have tahini or toasted sesame oil, which Melynda uses. I substituted roasted walnut oil instead. I also bypassed the cumin seed garnish, not because I didn't like the sound of it, but because I caught a nasty head cold yesterday and today just didn't have the energy to get it done.

I used 1 large carrot and 2 small ones, I probably could have used a couple more if I had them. Who runs out of carrots, I ask you??

I like the bright orange color of this dip, and the flavor is good too. I had some toasted pita triangles that I made the other day. I'm sure it will taste even better when my taste buds are back to normal, when I will definitely be making this again!

Let me know what you think! And isn't my little carrot spreader the cutest thing you've ever seen?!


Carrot Hummus
Makes approximately 2 cups.

2 large or 3 small carrots, peeled sliced and cooked till tender, drained well.
1 15 oz can garbanzo beans, drained well
1 - 2 cloves garlic
1/4 t salt
2 T lemon juice
1 t toasted sesame oil (I used roasted walnut oil)
1/4 - 1/3 c olive oil

Combine all ingredients and process until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides of processor bowl as needed. Transfer to a serving/storing container. Garnish and enjoy.

Cumin seed & salt garnish: 1 - 2 t cumin seed and 1/4 t salt.

Pan toast until fragrant, crush lightly.

Drizzle a little more olive oil over the top, add the cumin seeds, store in the refrigerator.

Serve with assorted vegetable dippers and crackers.

Puree of Green Pea & Mint

For two years in a row, our cousin Devin has made these delicious hors d'oeuvres for us at some point during his and Gina's visit. I love it when Gina & Devin & the girls come visit!

This year, I wasn't too drunk to pay attention while he listed the ingredients. He only told me the names of the ingredients, mind you, not the amounts. So this is my best guess. A pretty good guess if I do say so myself.

This batch turned out a bit mintier than Devin's, but one out of two boys like it so I'm calling it good. If you'd like less minty flavor, just use one sprig. Or maybe don't pluck fresh mint sprigs from your garden two seconds before you make this, which is what I did...

I made an Artisan Bread baguette for this, but you could buy a baguette at the store, if your store sells baguettes. My store does not.

Easy, fast, delicious and even healthy! Make some today! Seriously, I can pack away a lot of these beauties...yum. I used frozen peas, but you can use fresh peas instead. Just blanch them a bit first so the texture will be soft and smooth.



Puree of Green Pea & Mint
Adapted from Devin's creation

Thinly sliced baguette (or crostini if you plan a bit ahead)

14 ounces peas (if frozen, cook according to package directions and let cool)
1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil
leaves from 1 to 2 sprigs fresh mint
kosher salt
pepper

Parmesan cheese

Add peas and mint leaves to food processor, along with about 1/4 cup olive oil. Puree until smooth, adding more olive oil as necessary to achieve a nice consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste, I just tossed some in.

Serve a generous dollop of pea puree on top of each baguette slice, topped with a thin slice of Parmesan.

Bayou Eggplant and Shrimp Dressing

A friend of a friend posted this recipe on facebook, and I had all the ingredients (except cornbread!) so I decided to try it. The recipe comes from food.com, follow the link below.

I chose a new cornbread recipe to try out for this dressing, a true Southern unsweetened corn bread. I baked the cornbread in the morning, crumbled it and let it dry most of the day (rather than overnight).

For some reason this took some time to put together, longer than I expected. Perhaps in part due to peeling the shrimp? Or maybe because I recently moved my computer out of the kitchen (what??) and refused to print out the recipe...Anyway, allow yourself some time for this. It is a colorful dish when it's going together, and smells great.

On first taste, I have to admit I wasn't impressed. It was okay, but I didn't know if I'd make it again. But this dressing grew on me, and by the end of the dinner I was in definite *like* with it...more and more. I can now say that I really like it. And I can't wait to taste it tomorrow, as a leftover.



Bayou Eggplant and Shrimp Dressing

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
1 medium red bell pepper, chopped
2 -3 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs eggplants, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon cajun seasoning
10 cups coarsely crumbled cornbread (dried overnight)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 eggs, beaten
1 -1 1/2 cup chicken broth (or as needed) or 1 -1 1/2 cup turkey broth (or as needed)
3/4 teaspoon salt, to taste
1/4 teaspoon pepper, to taste

Heat the oil (medium heat) in a large non-stick skillet. Add the onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute/stir for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the eggplant, stir to combine. Cover and continue to cook for 8-10 minutes or until the eggplant is tender; stir frequently.

Add the shrimp and Cajun seasoning; cook/stir for 2-3 minutes or until the shrimp are pink. Put the shrimp mixture into a large mixing bowl; add in the crumbled cornbread and parsley.

Gradually stir in the eggs and approximately 1 cup broth, until the mixture is evenly moist but not soggy. Season to with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer mixture to a buttered casserole dish; drizzle with 1/2 cup broth.

Cover and bake in a 350° oven for about 30 minutes; uncover the last 15 minutes of cooking time if you want a crusty dressing.

Goat Cheese, Strawberry & Spinach Salad

I found this recipe in a roundabout way. Dave, of My Year on the Grill, posted a comment on Facebook about Joanne, of Eats Well With Others, and her fabulous salad. Dave and Joanne and I have all been contributors over at Our Krazy Kitchen, which is how I got to know them. So anyway. Dave commented on Joanne's new post on a new blog called Marcus Samuelsson, which was about this fabulous salad and the rest is history.

I served this salad as an accompaniment to Grilled Balsamic-Marinated Flank Steak for Number One's birthday dinner. It was excellent. I do have to say that this recipe's "serves 4" is way more than I could eat, even if salad was all we had for dinner. Just so you know. Actually, we have so much leftover that we are going to eat it for dinner again tomorrow, with strips of flank steak (also leftover) on top. Perfect. I love it when dinner is already made.

*They don't sell fresh basil at our teeny tiny grocery store, so I sprinkled some dried basil on top along with the sea salt. Yum.

Because it was a birthday dinner, we also had a luscious 2-layer chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting for dessert. Topped off with one of our precious bottles of wine self-imported from France, and it was quite a meal!

Goat Cheese, Strawberry, and Spinach Salad

Serves 4-6, adapted from Bon Appetit April 2011

1 cup dried white beans, soaked overnight or 1 (14 oz) can white beans
1 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
1 bunch asparagus, ends cut off and chopped into two-inch pieces
8 oz soft goat cheese or chevre
1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thinly
8 cups spinach, either chopped regular spinach or baby spinach
1/2 cup small fresh basil leaves
Fine sea salt

1. If using dried white beans, drain them from the water you’ve soaked them in overnight. Put them in a pot. Cover them with water with about a 2-inch overhang. Salt the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and simmer until tender, 30-60 minutes depending on the beans. If using canned beans, then drain the beans and rinse them.

2. While the beans are cooking, put 1 cup balsamic vinegar (I used aged balsamic vinegar of Modena) in a small non-reactive pan. Bring to a simmer and reduce until syrupy, about 5-8 minutes. Set aside.

3. When the white beans are pretty much done cooking, drop your asparagus into the white bean water and cook for 1-2 minutes. Alternatively, you can bring a second pot of water to a boil and cook them for 1-2 minutes. Drain both the white beans and the asparagus.

4. In a large bowl, toss the strawberries, spinach, basil, asparagus, and white beans. Separate into four dishes and top each dish with about 2 oz goat cheese, broken into chunks, a drizzle of balsamic syrup and a sprinkle of sea salt.

Serve as lunch or as a light dinner.

Gingered Watercress

I happened across a television show on the Cooking Channel called French Food at Home, where this dish was being prepared. I'd never seen the show before, never heard of the "cooking channel" before and I've never had watercress before. It looked so easy I was intrigued and decided to try it. Of course calling it French didn't hurt either!

This is an interesting side dish, and good for something a little different. The watercress stems are sort of crunchy and take on the flavor of the other ingredients (which is good, because I wasn't impressed with the raw watercress flavor). Our boys said they didn't like it, but did take a few bites each. My husband and I didn't love it, but it was pretty good.

I didn't have a fresh tomato, so I used canned diced tomatoes. If you are going to do this substitution, only use half a can. Next time I will also chop the diced tomatoes finer. I would also use a bit more ginger. On French Food at Home, she said to use about 1 inch of ginger. Measure generously.

I still don't understand why our teeny tiny grocery store carries watercress and not kale...but regardless you should try this dish for a change.





Gingered Watercress

Recipe courtesy Laura Calder

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 15 min

6 servings

2 bunches fresh watercress, trimmed (about 1 1/2 pounds)
3 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 knob (1-inch) fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 tomato, seeded and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wash the cress and spin it dry. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add the tomato and cook to paste. Add the cress, and cook down, turning occasionally with tongs, until tender, about 10 minutes. Season and serve.