August 2010 - Italian Night at Krista's

July 2010 - Southern Night at Annie's

Hot day-um was this a delicious meal!

Tomato Pie with leeks
1 refrigerated pie crust
2 medium red tomatoes, 2 medium yellow tomatoes, 1 green tomato
Kosher salt
1 medium leek
fresh cracked pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg, lightly beaten
6-8 slices bacon chopped, browned and drained
Grated Cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat over to 450.  Fit pie crust into 9 inch pie pan.  Bake 8-10 minutes until brown.  Let cool 5 minutes.  Reduce oven to 375.
Cut tomatoes into 1/4 inch slices.  Place on a paper towel lined wire rack.  Sprinkle with Kosher salt.  Let stand 20  minutes.  Pat dry with paper towel.
Slice leek length wise to clean, discarding ends and cook in bacon drippings over med heat, sauté 3-5 minutes or until tender.
Layer leek and bacon on bottom of pie pan.  Top with tomato slices and sprinkle with pepper.  Stir Parmesan, mayonnaise and egg in a bowl until blended.
Spread cheese mixture over tomatoes
Sprinkle with grated cheddar.
Bake 375 for 30 minutes.  Let stand 10 minutes before slicing
Garnish with flat leaf parsley.

Zucchini Carpaccio
2 zucchini (about 1 1/2 pounds total), sliced into paper-thin rounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 young leek, white and light green parts only, sliced paper-thin into rings and thoroughly cleaned
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as chervil, dill, chives.
1 cup ricotta cheese
Fresh mint leaves, for garnish, optional

Directions:
Shingle the zucchini slices in a single overlapping layer on a platter. Dust with salt and pepper, then drizzle with a 3-count of olive oil and the lemon juice. Put that into the refrigerator for about 10 minutes to give the flavors a chance to get into the zucchini. Now scatter the leeks over. Sprinkle with the herbs. Garnish garnish with the ricotta cheese and mint leaves, if using; serve.

Okra
8 pieces of bacon
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1lb frozen cut okra
160z crushed tomatoes
Dash each of salt and pepper
Dash of red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:
-fry bacon in pan until crispy and remove
-add onion and garlic and sautee about 5 minutes until starting to brown
-add okra tomatoes, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes
-crumble bacon and add to pan
-lower heat to medium. Cover and cook until soft, about 30 mins.
-serve immediately

Mac and Cheese
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, plus more for casserole 

stale baguette hardened and cut into cubes

5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour 

2 teaspoons coarse salt, plus more for water 

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 1/2 cups (about 18 ounces) grated sharp white cheddar cheese 

2 cups (about 8 ounces) grated Gruyère or 1 1/4 cups (about 5 ounces) grated Pecorino Romano cheese 

1 pound elbow macaroni

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Butter a 3-quart casserole dish; set aside. Place the bread in a medium bowl. In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Pour the melted butter into the bowl with the bread, and toss and brown. Set the breadcrumbs aside.
2. Warm the milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Melt the remaining 6 tablespoons butter in a high-sided skillet over medium heat. When the butter bubbles, add the flour. Cook, stirring, 1 minute.
3. While whisking, slowly pour in the hot milk a little at a time to keep mixture smooth. Continue cooking, whisking constantly, until the mixture bubbles and becomes thick, 8 to 12 minutes.
4. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir in salt, nutmeg, black pepper, cayenne pepper, 3 cups cheddar cheese, and 1 1/2 cups Gruyère (or 1 cup Pecorino Romano); set the cheese sauce aside.
5. Cover a large pot of salted water, and bring to a boil. Cook the macaroni until the outside of pasta is cooked and the inside is underdone, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the macaroni to a colander, rinse under cold running water, and drain well. Stir the macaroni into the reserved cheese sauce.
6. Pour the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, 1/2 cup Gruyère (or 1/4 cup Pecorino Romano), and the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Transfer the dish to a wire rack for 5 minutes; serve.

Meatloaf Wellington
2lbs ground beef
2 Tbl ketchup
½ yellow onion
1Tbl Brown sugar and more for the top
½ Cup of bread crumbs or finely crushed crackers
1 egg
1Tbl milk
Salt, pepper to season

Directions:
Mush up until your hand hurt in a bowl and form in loaf pan. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes
Let cool for 10 minutes on rack.

Wellington:
Pepperidge Farm Pastry Sheets (use both and defrost)
Form around the loaf (you may need to mold back together w/ fingers) and brush w/ eggwash (1 egg white and water)

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

Strawberry Ice Cream Sandwiches (easiest summer dessert ever!)
Ingredients:
Pepperidge Farm Shortbread Cookies
Good quality strawberry ice cream

Directions:
Spoon (and mold) ice cream on one cookie and place the other on top. Freeze in container until ready to use.

Minted Vodka Lemonade
Source: Epicurious

1 cup (packed) mint leaves, chopped
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 cups vodka
Crushed ice
Fresh mint sprigs

Directions:
Combine chopped mint and sugar in large bowl. Stir in lemon juice and vodka. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.

Strain mixture into pitcher. Fill six 6- to 8-ounce glasses with crushed ice. Pour mixture over. Garnish with mint sprigs.

June 2010 - "Brinner" at Mollye's

Spanish Home Fries

8 medium red potatoes, cut into bite size cubes

A few teaspoons of the following (to taste):

turmeric

paprika

cayenne

salt

olive oil

½ red onion, finely chopped

-Peel and cut potatoes. Put in pot and fill with water to cover.
-Bring water to a rapid boil and cook for about 10-15 minutes until tender.

-Meanwhile, mix all dried spices in a large mixing bowl.

-Drain potatoes and add to bowl.

-Add oil to coat.

-Add onion. Toss.

-Pour the entire mixture into a pan heated to medium-high heat and pan-fry for 10 minutes, or until the skin is crisp.

Apple French Toast

For Toast:

2 teaspoons corn syrup (I use maple syrup)

1 stick butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tart apples, peeled and sliced

1 baguette of day old French bread, sliced into 3/4” slices

3 eggs

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

For Syrup:

1 cup apple sauce
10 oz apple jelly

Cinnamon and ground cloves to taste (I throw a few teaspoons in there for good measure)

-Add corn syrup, butter and brown sugar to saucepan and heat for 5-7 minutes.

-Pour into ungreased 9”x13” pan.

-Put apples over the top.

-In a medium mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk and vanilla

-Add bread slices and soak for 1 minute

-Place on top of apples.

-Cover and refrigerate over night.

-Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes until browned.

-Meanwhile, add all syrup ingredients to saucepan and cook until heated through.

-Pour over French toast immediately after removing from the oven.

Spinach Quiche

1 store-bought pastry shell
A few teaspoons olive oil

2 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 (5-ounce) package prewashed fresh baby spinach

salt

pepper

4-ounce assorted mushrooms (optional)

2⁄3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided

1 cup plain soy milk or regular milk

1 large egg

3 large egg whites

-Bake pastry shell according to package until browned. Remove from oven, and set aside.

-Put oven to 375.

-Heat oil over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet; add shallots.

-Add spinach, and cook 2–3 minutes or until wilted.

-Add a dash of salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate; set aside.

-Using the same pan, add oil, and cook mushrooms about 6 minutes or until browned on both sides. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

-Sprinkle 1⁄3 cup Parmesan cheese over bottom of pastry crust. Top with spinach and mushrooms.

-In a separate bowl, whisk together milk with egg and egg whites. Pour into shell.

-Top with remaining 1⁄3 cup Parmesan, and bake for 45–50 minutes or until top is firm and golden brown.

-Cut into wedges and serve. 

Chorizo and Potato Frittata
Source: Cheaphealthygood.blogspot.com via Jamie Oliver

3 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into small chunks
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
6 large egg whites
2-1/2 ounces Spanish chorizo sausage, chopped into 1/3-inch pieces
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves picked
2 small shallots, peeled and very finely sliced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
A bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves picked, very roughly chopped

Directions:
1) Boil potatoes in salted water until tender enough to pierce through with a knife. Drain. Pour back into pot. Let dry out a bunch.  (I like to do this the night before)
2) Preheat oven to 375°F.
3) In a large ovensafe skillet, heat potato and chorizo over medium-high. Saute 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Chorizo should have rendered its fat by the end.
4) While the chorizo and potatoes are cooking, add eggs, salt, and pepper to a bowl. Whisk 'em all together.
5) After that, slice up the shallots. In a small bowl (separate from the eggs), combine shallots, lemon juice, ½ teaspoon of olive oil, and a little salt and pepper. "Pinch shallots with your fingers to dress." Marinate a few minutes.
6) Okay. By now, the chorizo and potato should be done. Put them on a plate. Add the remaining ½ teaspoon of olive oil to the pan. Add rosemary and jack heat up to high. Cook until a little crispy. Add eggs. Quickly add chorizo and potato pushing them around so they're evenly spread out. Put pan in oven. Cook until the eggs are set, a little puffy, and are ever-so-lightly browned on top. Remove from oven and immediately remove frittata from pan.
7) Add parsley to shallot mixture. Sprinkle over frittata. Serve right away.
 

May 2010 - Healthy Night at Megan's

Dwight's Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad

2 bunches of red beets

goat cheese

mixed lettuce (or just spinach)

sunflower seeds

rice vinegar

olive oil

sea salt & fresh pepper

set the oven to 425. throughly wash beets, cut into small quarters and toss in olive oil. top with sea salt. roast in the oven for 1 hour (or longer - remember to shake them around so they don't burn). remove from oven, let cool, and then remove the skin. arrange salad on a plate, add goat cheese crumbles and beets. drizzle on some olive oil and vinegar, and top with sunflower seeds. 

Green Monster Smoothie

1 C Baby Spinach

1 Ripe Banana

1/2 C Milk, give or take

1 T Peanut Butter

A few drops of Honey

A couple of ice cubes

Blend together until smooth!

March 2010 - Kate Hosts Spanish Food

Kari's Goat Cheese/Mushroom Pita

goat cheese

button mushrooms (the regular white ones)

whole head of garlic - or like 10 cloves

fresh basil

olive oil

white cooking wine

sea salt & fresh pepper

flat pita bread (cut into quarters)

chop up the mushrooms, garlic, and basil (use your oxo chopper if you have one moran)

add olive oil to a pan and sautee the garlic, basil and mushrooms

add some white wine, sea salt, and fresh pepper for flavor

lightly toast pita, then top with goat cheese and mushrooms

put back into the oven for a couple of minutes until hot

yum

Mollye's Sangria
Gallon pitcher
triple sec
red apple
green apple
handle burgundy wine
seltzer
orange
lemon
lime
1/4 sugar
brandy

chop fruit and put in pitcher
pour sugar over fruit
pour triple sec until it covers the fruit, stir
fill the rest of the 3/4 with wine, 1/4 with seltzer
add shot of brandy
enjoy!

Kate's Shrimp Al Ajillo

Ingredients:

4 ounces extra virgin olive oil

8 cloves minced garlic

1 bay leaf

1 whole chile pepper

12 ounces peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

6 ounces dry white wine

1 lemon, cut in half

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions:

In a saute pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic, bay leaf, and chile pepper until garlic is golden brown. Add shrimp, salt, and pepper and saute for 2 minutes. Add white wine and reduce in half. Add juice from 1/2 lemon. Then add parsley. Serve very hot and garnish with other 1/2 lemon.

Kate's Empanadillas

Recipe By: Allrecipes.com

Serving Size: 12

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped

4 ounces diced cooked ham

2 hard-cooked eggs, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

salt and pepper to taste

1 (10 ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, and saute until tender. Pour in the tomatoes, and cook for a minute, then stir in the ham and heat through. Remove from the heat, and mix in the eggs and parsley. Allow to cool for at least 5 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Unroll the can of pizza dough on a clean surface, and stretch or roll into a 14x10 inch rectangle. Cut into twelve 3 inch squares.

3. Place equal amounts of the filling into the centers of the squares. Brush the edges lightly with water. Fold in halves to form a triangle, pressing the edges to seal. Place on a greased cookie sheet and prick with a fork.

4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

February 2010 - Greek Food at Anni's

I think I was full for days after this meal!

Mollye's Feta and Roasted Red Pepper & Feta Dip

4 red bell peppers (I used a medium jar instead of fresh peppers)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups crumbled feta cheese

Puree all ingredients in processor or blender. Season with pepper. Chill at least 3 hours or overnight. Serve with pita chips or crackers

Annie's Baked Feta

2 blocks of feta (I used LF)
1 bunch (10-15 sprigs) of fresh thyme
1/4 cup or so of olive oil
Fresh ground pepper to taste


Break off feta into chunks in an oven-proof baking dish
Sprinkle tyme on top and save a few whole sprigs for garnish
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper
Bake for about 25 minutes at 350 (not an hour at 400)

Serve with sliced baguette, pita chips or crackers.

Spanakopita

1 package phyllo (in freezer section)
2 pkgs chopped, frozen spinach ( 8 oz each), thawed/drained in a colander - press down to squeeze out excess water
8 oz. feta (can sub half 4oz. LF Cottage Cheese)
1 onion, diced
1 egg
Dill to taste (maybe a tsp?)
Salt/Pepper
Oregano to taste (tsp?)Olive oil

About ½ stick of butter, melted

Sauté onion in olive oil for a few min. on medium high until just starting to brown. Add spices and then add spinach.  Sauté for about 5 min.  turn off heat, add egg and cheese, mix together. Let mixture cool a little.

Melt butter on stovetop.  With pastry brush, butter the sheets, cut in 3 strips and fold up the mixture into triangles. Brush the tops of the triangles with more melted butter. 

Cook on 350 for 15-20 min, until brown on top.

Keftedes (Greek Meatballs)

1 slice of bread
milk
1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 an onion, finely diced or grated
2-3 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed
1 heaping tsp. dried oregano
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1 tsp. salt
freshly ground pepper
flour, for dredging
                                                                        olive oil, for pan frying

Put your slice of bread into a bowl and then pour milk into the bowl. Allow the bread to soak up the milk. Squeeze the bread to get rid of some of the milk, and then discard the remaining milk, keeping just the soggy bread.

Add the beef, egg, onion, garlic, oregano, parsley, salt & pepper to the bread. Mix everything together. Form into small-ish meatballs.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add some olive oil. Dredge the meatballs in flour, shaking off the excess. Fry until cooked through.

Greek Potatoes

4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 6 or 8 wedges each
2 tsp. dried oregano
sea salt and fresh ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 – 1/3 cup lemon juice (about 1 large, juicy lemon)
~ 1/4 cup low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth

Preheat the oven to 400.

Toss the potatoes, coating well with the oregano, salt and pepper, olive oil and lemon juice. Pour about 1/4 cup chicken broth around the potatoes - so that there is about a 1/4" in the pan.  Bake for about 45-50 minutes or until fork tender and crispy around the edges, stirring once midway through baking. (If potatoes are done but you want them slightly more crispy/brown, put them under the broiler for a few minutes). 

Vasilopita

4 eggs, separated
1 stick butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (2 large naval oranges)
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla powder or extract
3 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 350 and grease a cake pan.

Beat the egg whites to medium peaks and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and set aside.

Beat butter for a couple of minutes then add sugar and cream. Add egg yolks one at a time beating until just incorporated. Add the orange juice, zest and vanilla.

Fold in about 1/3 of the egg whites, followed by 1/3 of the flour mixture. Repeat twice until the batter is just combined. Stir a  coin into the batter and pour everything into the pan.

Bake for ~40 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Kate's Baklava

(adapted from allrecipes.com)

Serving Size: 18

Ingredients:

1 package phyllo dough (precut 9x13)

1 lb. chopped walnuts

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon sugar (white or brown)

(For sauce)

1 cup water

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F(175 degrees C). Butter the bottoms and sides of a 9x13 inch pan.

2. Chop nuts and toss with cinnamon and tsp of sugar. Set aside. Unroll phyllo dough.  Cut whole stack in half to fit pan.  Cover phyllo with a dampened cloth to keep from drying out as you work. Place two sheets of dough in pan, butter thoroughly.  Repeat until you have 8 sheets layered. Sprinkle 2 - 3 tablespoons of nut mixture on top. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts, layering as you go. The top layer should be about 6 - 8 sheets deep.

3. Using a sharp knife cut into diamond or square shapes all the way to the bottom of the pan. You may cut into 4 long rows the make diagonal cuts. Bake for about 50 minutes until baklava is golden and crisp.

4. Make sauce while baklava is baking.  Boil sugar and water until sugar is melted.  Add vanilla and honey.  Simmer for about 25 minutes.

5.  Remove baklava from oven and immediately spoon sauce over it.  Let cool.  Serve in cupcake papers.  This freezes well. Leave it uncovered as it  gets soggy if it is wrapped up.

Koularakia (anise flavored cookies)

1 Egg

1 C Sugar

1 C Butter

1 t Vanilla extract

1 t anise extract (substitute almond extract if you want to try something different)

3 t Baking Powder

2 C Flour

Cream together egg, sugar and butter. Add extracts and backing powder.  Gradually add flour, you may need more than 2 cups to get the right consistency.  Roll dough in your hands into 3-4 inch strips. Fold the strip at the halfway point, then twist twice and lay on baking sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

January 2010 - Thai Food at Kari's

There is no better way to make it through a rough winter than having a monthly dinner with good food and even better friends every month. The kick-off of our cooking club probably mixed that up – the food may have topped the friends (I kid!). But seriously, it was delicious.

Kate brought Thai Curry Noodle Soup.

Source: Frugal Foodie (Serves 6)

-3 T. vegetable oil
-3 chicken breast, thin sliced
-3 T. Curry Paste
-1 inch ginger, grated
-2 carrots, thin sliced
-1 C. shitake mushrooms, sliced
-4 C. chicken broth
-4 C. coconut milk
-1 Lime
-1 t. fish sauce
-1 t. soy sauce
-1 T. sugar
- 4 oz. rice noodles
-1 head broccoli florets
-bean sprouts

Heat oil in large pot on med-high heat. Add chicken and saute until just browned, about 4 min. Stir in curry paste and ginger. Add carrots and mushrooms, continue to cook another 2 min. Stir in coconut milk, stock, lime juice, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cook 15 minutes. Add noodles and broccoli. Cook 5 more minutes, until noodles have softened. Ladle into bowls and top with bean sprouts. Serve hot.

Annie brought pineapple sticky rice . Off the charts…

Here's the recipe. She omitted the mushrooms and spinach and hoisin and oyster sauce.

Kari went to town with summer rolls (TWO dipping sauces) and Thai shrimp in red curry sauce. The summer rolls were so filling, light and tasty. The shrimp was good enough for me to risk anaphylactic shock with a second helping.

I was lazy and brought wine and sake. I’ll make up for it next time!