Smashed Potatoes July 29, 2008

These beautiful, tricolored potatoes. Oh my. They were so tiny and soft and pretty and I knew that I’d finally found the potatoes to make 101cookbooks smashed potatoes. It’s not so much a recipe as it is a way of cooking potatoes. Something about the color and texture (soft on the inside and crisp on the outside) is so perfect.

Small potatoes
oil
salt/pepper
Paprika OR spicy seasoned salt (I used a Caribbean flavor)

Boil the potatoes in salt water until tender but not falling apart. Do not peel! Once done, drain and smash the potatoes carefully with a fork. Heat oil in a skillet and cook smashed potatoes until crisp on each side. Salt and pepper while cooking. Enjoy with an egg and a cup of coffee.

Notes: I enjoyed the spicy seasoned salt on the potatoes. And of course, the color of the purple potatoes.

Servings: 2 servings

Cucumber, Tomato and Feta Salad July 28, 2008

We got some flavorful and crisp cucumbers in our CSA box a few weeks ago and I threw together this simple and tasty salad with some other ingredients I had on hand. It makes for an easy summer salad on a hot day and looks pretty too.

1 cucumber – seeded and cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 pint grape/cherry tomatoes – cut in half
Feta cheese – crumbled (as much as you want, I think I used 1/4 pound or less of fresh feta)
1 big handful of basil – sliced
Salt/Pepper

In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients and season with salt and pepper. That’s it! Your recipe is done!

Notes: If possible, buy fresh feta cheese from the deli instead of the little plastic containers sold on a shelf. That stuff is so dried out it doesn’t really taste like feta anymore.

Servings: 3-4 servings

GUEST CHEF: Kim’s Bacon Wrapped Burgers July 23, 2008

Mmm. Bacon wrapped burgers. I walked into the kitchen while Kim was still preparing these hamburgers and wrapping them in bacon. I knew they would be awesome, and they were.

1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 pound ground beef

6 slices bacon
6 hamburger buns, split

In a bowl, mix together the cheeses, onion, egg, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. Crumble in the ground beef and mix together by hand. Form into 6 patties, and wrap a slice of bacon around each one. Secure bacon with toothpicks.

Grill on a nice hot grill outside while enjoying some nice white wine or a home brew. Eat on a toasted bun.

Notes: Thanks Kim!

Servings: 6 hamburgers

Walnut and Camembert Stuffed Pastry July 21, 2008

I got some cheese sent to me by Ile De France (*ahem* for free), and I have been eating it for a week. I selected the camembert cheese, a soft and creamy cheese. I’ve eaten this cheese on crackers, I’ve made a grilled cheese (!), and I’ve put a few small pieces on a fried egg. While it’s no diet food, it is tasty.

I finally looked for a recipe to use the rest of this cheese and came across this appetizer recipe on Epicurious.

1/4 cup walnuts – diced
2 t. butter – melted
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (I buy mine from Whole Foods as it’s the only kind without any hydrogenated oils.)
1 pinch salt
1 egg – lightly beaten with 1 T. water (which I forgot and which is why the walnuts fell off the top of mine!)

1/4 cup walnuts – toasted
4 oz camembert

Preheat oven to 400. Roll out slightly thawed puff pastry on a floured counter top. Cut into either circles (or squares, which aren’t as pretty but much easier) and place on parchement paper on a cookie sheet. Here is where I forgot to brush them with the egg. Don’t forget! Dice the walnuts and mix with melted butter and salt. Top the pastry with walnut mixture and bake for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned.

While baking, mix together the camembert (with the rind cut off) and the walnuts.

Once pastry is done. carefully pull apart each one so that there is a top and a bottom. Scoop some of the cheese and nut mixture onto the bottom piece and top with the other piece. EAT! This would also probably be great with a little honey drizzled on top, but my insulin dependant body thought that might be just a bit much.

Notes: All the walnuts fell off. Oops. It still tasted great!

Servings: 15ish. I forgot to count.

Fennel and Nectarine Salad July 19, 2008

We got a couple lovely little fennel in our CSA box and I wanted to something to really enjoy their flavor. I normally end up cooking fennel, but I thought I’d look for a raw salad with fruit, since it’s so hot and humid in our apartment. I ran across this and made a few adjustments. It was tasty!

2 fennel bulbs
2 nectarines
Handful of mint leaves – washed and dried
1 lemon – juiced
Shaved parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Slice the fennel very thin and clean thouroughly. Split into two bowls. Slice nectarine and split in two bowls along with the mint and shaved parm. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with lemon juice. Mix and serve.

Notes: I forgot to put any olive oil on it, but it tasted so fresh and light this way that I’m not sure I would put it on anyway. This was a great summer salad and could be presented in a much prettier way for guests.

Servings: 2 salads

FAVORITES: All Clad Grill Pan and Panini Press July 18, 2008

I live in an apartment and do not own my own grill. When summer comes around and all my food magazines are featuring grilled food, I start to get a little sad that I can’t make them. But this past year Chris bought me this grill pan for my birthday. I like it for many reasons.

1. Non-stick

There are lots of grill pans out there. While I worked at the Chopping Block they always used these double burner, cast iron monsters.

Did they grill well? Yes, they did! Could you ever get them clean afterwards? No. And they were heavy and crazy hot and I was always terrified of burning myself on one of those things in front of the entire class. Anyway, I knew I wanted a non-stick grill pan so that I could actually clean the thing and use it repeatedly.

2. Dual Use

Another reason I like this is because it’s both a grill pan and a panini press (when you know how to use it). So, I can grill up some venison steaks one night using just the pan, clean it easily, and then use it the next night to make panini! The top press is heavy, made of cast iron I think (but it cleans easily). It took me a couple tries to get it to work correctly and brown both sides of the sandwich evenly. The trick is in heating both the grill and the press at the same time. The grill should heat at a medium to medium low temperature and the top press part should be on another burner with a high flame under it for a while, until it’s nice and hot. Then when you use it to press the sandwich, the press will have enough heat to continue cooking while the bottom part  doesn’t burn. It’s actually much easier than I’m making it sound right now.

Are good grill pans and panini presses cheap? No. They aren’t. But I have gone through so much cheap kitchen cookware that I am no longer swayed by the higher price. I’d much rather pay more now and have this grill pan around for many years than to buy something half the price that either breaks in a year, doesn’t heat well or is covered in toxic material.

What can you cook on a grill pan?

Cumin-spiked Tofu

Turkey, Gorgonzola, Apple and Caramelized Onion Panini

Pistou, Fontina, Mushroom Panini

Soy Marinated Tilapia

Grilled Zucchini and Sweet Potatoes

Zucchini Fritters July 14, 2008

We had an all vegetable meal tonight (sort of). Miso soup made with vegetable broth and with spinach and onion, beet and kholrabi chips baked in the oven and these zucchini fritters with greek yogurt. Delicious, especially with the tangy yogurt.

1 large green zucchini and 1 smaller yellow summer squash
Salt/Pepper
1 egg
2 small spring onions – diced
1 handful each of basil and parsley (from my herb garden!)
1/2 C. whole wheat flower
Grape seed oil for frying
Greek yogurt

Shred zucchini and press out excess liquid with paper towels. Mix in the beaten egg, salt/pepper, flower, onion and herbs. Heat oil in a frying pan and drop in small amounts of the zucchini batter. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side but watch to make sure not to burn. Set on a paper towel after they are cooked to get rid of some excess oil. Then serve with yogurt!

Notes: Yum. Next time I think I’ll try baking them instead, as that is always healthier with less oil.

Servings: Two entree sized servings

Kale Chips July 9, 2008

One thing we get a lot of in our CSA box is kale. Or, when we get kale more than one week in a row, I am overwhelmed because I don’t really love it. I came across this “recipe” somewhere and thought I’d give it a try. Just be careful not to set your plate full of feather weight kale chips next to the open window. The wind gusts!

1 bunch kale
oil to spray
salt

Tear out the think center stem of the kale and tear the kale into 2 inch pieces. Clean and dry thoroughly. Spray a cookie sheet or two with a little oil. Place kale on sheet in one layer. Spray with a little oil and toss on salt (liberally, because it’s good). Bake kale for 10 minutes at 350 or until the edges get slightly brown. Take out of the oven and eat.

Notes: These are so light when they are done. Some were more crispy than others and I just loved them, as did Chris.

Servings: Well, that depends on how many you bake, silly.

Dolmades July 8, 2008

As I mentioned in the last post, grape leaves have been in our CSA box the past two weeks and our newsletter from Home Grown Wisconsin had a recipe included.I switched a lot of things to use what I had on hand, but they still turned out very well.

8 fresh grape leaves– blanched– dip in boiling water for about 30 seconds
1/2 C. uncooked quinoa
2 T. fresh mint
1 C. Water
1/2 pound venison (I cut up loin)
Pinch of cinnamon, salt, pepper
3 garlic scapes – diced
1 lemon – juice
Mix meat with quinoa, salt, pepper and cinnamon. Remove stem from grape leave (after blanching, can also use jarred leaves in brine)– spread leave on flat surface, shiny side down. Place about 1 teaspoon meat mixture across the leaf about 1/2 inch from stem point. Fold leaf forward toward stuffing. Then fold right side over and roll leaf very tight. When fully rolled, squeeze it to secure. Repeat. Neatly place each stuffed roll in small pot in layers. Pound garlic with mint and salt. Add 1 C. water and juice from lemon and pour over grape leaves. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn down to simmer, cover and cook slowly for 1 hour.
Steam until grape leaves are soft.

Notes: These turned out well! I had left over quinoa and venison that I just cooked in the same pot in the water lemon mixed. I don’t know how often I’ll actually make these, as I don’t often have grape leaves on hand and if I do, I’ll probably make those goat cheese stuffed leaves, but still. It’s good to know I can make dolmades in a pinch.

Servings: 8-9 dolmas

Goat Cheese Stuffed Grape Leaves with Tomato and Olive Salad July 5, 2008

We got grape leaves in our CSA box for the past two weeks. I made dolmades, which I’ll post later, but this week I made these goat cheese stuffed grape leaves served over a salad of tomatoes and olives and I can’t even express how good this dish was. The grape leaves got nice and crispy from being grilled and the cheese softened on the inside. The dressing was great in combination with the olives and tomatoes. So good!

1/2 c. olive oil
1 T. dried thyme
salt & pepper
9 grape leaves – dipped in boiling water for 30 seconds a piece and rinsed in cold water
9 slices of goat cheese

1/4 c. olive oil
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 t. dijon mustard
6 tomatoes – sliced
1/4 c. sliced black olives

4 slices french bread

Whisk 1/2 cup oil, thyme, and black pepper in small bowl to blend. Arrange grape leaves, vein side up, on work surface. Dip each cheese round into thyme oil and place in center of 1 grape leaf. Fold sides of leaves over cheese; fold up bottom and continue to roll up, enclosing cheese completely. Arrange wrapped cheeses, seam side down, on platter. Brush lightly with some thyme oil. Cover and chill at least 1 hour.

Whisk 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, and mustard in small bowl to blend. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Slightly overlap tomato slices on large platter. Drizzle with dressing; sprinkle with half of olives.

Place wrapped cheese rounds on grill pan, seam side down. Grill until cheese softens and leaves begin to char, about 2 minutes per side. Arrange cheeses atop tomatoes. Sprinkle with remaining olives.

Brush bread slices with remaining thyme oil. Grill bread until beginning to brown, turning occasionally, about 5 minutes.

Notes: We ate this with sweet corn and it made for a perfect summer meal.

Servings: 2 servings