Eggs, Sausage and Potatoes

Well, this week I learned that not only should I not be allowed to cook when I'm extremely upset, but that I should also not cook when overly excited.  Both dishes I was looking forward to and both of them failed.

The first was a dutch baby topped with a mixture of pork sausage, cherry tomatoes, zucchini and red bell pepper.  I knew going into it that I should not be cooking, but had already purchased the ingredients and we were hungry, so I made the dutch baby. Should have been easy enough, a simple mixture of egg, flour, milk and a pinch of salt...I was sadly mistaken. It didn't rise! It was supposed to have gotten all puffy and yummy, instead it just sat there and cooked as if it were a cake! But I continued on with the sausage mixture anyways, in hopes that maybe it would still at least taste like it was supposed to. Nope, wrong again!  Although the sausage mixture turned out good, it did not go well at all with the egg cake. Fortunately Dylan enjoyed hers, but I think it was just more her knowing that I was in a bad mood and trying to do anything to try and cheer me up (plus she was probably starving by this point).

The second idea came from an abundance of potatoes and the leftover sausage mixture.  This day I happened to be in a wonderfully excited mood with so many great things happening that I think maybe my brain was a bit preoccupied. However, I had this great idea for dinner in my head and I was determined to make it.  I diced up the potatoes and cooked them in a pan with some garlic until they started to brown, added the sunburst squash, which was sliced, and then added the leftover sausage mixture from the previous night.  I also poached a few eggs, which proved a bit difficult as well (but I won't get into that right now).

Apparently, I should have checked my potatoes better because they were only half way cooked through and somehow I managed to add too much salt, which to be honest I hardly even remember adding.  I also know that this was a disaster of a dinner, because as hungry as Dylan was, she wasn't too thrilled with me for serving it to her (poor thing!).

So now the rule is that Jess is only allowed to cook when in an even, controlled temper. Hmm...this may pose as a problem, considering even tempered and controlled aren't words typically used to describe me!

Tuna with Arugula and Sunburst Squash

Well, I think that it is pretty apparent after making dinner last night that it's time to figure out how to use an actual grill because this little grill pan just isn't going to cut it anymore. Fortunately, dinner still turned out edible just not quite as good as I was going for.

I started out by covering the tuna steaks in a mixture of Trader Joe's Island Teriyaki Sauce and rice wine vinegar and set aside for about 20 minutes. While the tuna was marinating, I made a quick red wine vinaigrette and drizzle over top of some arugula. I also prepared the red pepper strips, watermelon balls, pluot slices and cherry tomatoes for the plate.

I heated a grill pan to medium high and cooked my tuna steaks for a few minutes on each side, however, because of the sticky/sugary nature of the marinade, this burnt to the pan and caused one side of my tuna to turn a bit, well, dark. So I immediately took the tuna out of the pan, calling it officially done at this point and set it aside to rest. 

After cleaning the pan, I returned it to the burner and lowered the heat to medium so that I could grill the sunburst squash on all sides, just until cooked through.

I also took the remaining sauce from the marinade and cooked it down slightly to brush on top of the finished tuna.

The finished product was not too bad, provided you covered the tuna in the sauce. I much preferred the simple arugula salad with red pepper and a light sprinkling of parmesan cheese on top.

Friday Bin 8/19/11

Friday's bin was full of delicious produce! I can hardly wait to get started this week!

Local Carrots with Tops
Local Cucumbers
Local Lacinato Kale
Local Red Potatoes
NW Corn
Red Peppers
Sunburst Squash
Arugula
Mini Watermelon
Mixed Cherry Tomatoes
Early Dapple Pluots
Early Gold Apples
Local Peaches
1 Jar of Sunny Honey Raspberry Blossom Honey

I'm very excited to have honey included in my order!! Also, the mini watermelon has already begun to inspire tonight's meal, and can you really go wrong with cherry tomatoes? Yum!! 

The newest vegetable to my bin this week is the sunburst squash. It looks like a prettier version of zucchini and probably tastes like it too, but the wonderful color should make for a great addition to any meal!

Zucchini Frittata

I have willingly eaten (and craved) eggs twice this week. I'm blaming it on some sort of chemical imbalance considering this never happens. However, I decided to take advantage of this craving and make a frittata.  It was just me at home and I figured this would be a quick idea for dinner.

I chopped half of a zucchini and a yellow squash into bite sized pieces and added them to a small saute pan with a clove of rough chopped garlic. I added a small amount of butter and when the vegetables began to brown I finished it off with a small splash of white wine (just because).  The vegetables were removed from the pan and set aside.

For the eggs, I simply whisked 3 eggs together with some salt, red pepper and paprika and poured into the small pan.  Once the eggs began to set, I added the zucchini and squash then placed the pan into a preheated 350 degree oven to finish the eggs.

When the frittata was done, I flipped it out onto a plate and sprinkled it with cheese and fresh basil.

I will admit that this was good, very good. In fact, I ate the entire thing. Although I don't see myself falling in love with eggs any time soon, I just might have to start cooking with them a bit more.

Buttermilk Pancakes with Raspberry Plum Sauce and Fresh Grape Juice!

I've been craving pancakes with raspberry sauce for several days now and last night I finally decided that it was time to give in. Because technically, I'm cheating a bit with this dish I decided to use the plums (from my bin) with the raspberries (purchased) so that it would qualify for my blog!!

I started off by making the grape juice because it actually has to sit for several hours.  After rinsing and removing the purple grapes from the vines, they were placed into a large stock pot and mashed with a potato masher. I brought the grapes to a low simmer and allowed them to cook for 10 minutes, mashing again after 5 minutes to make sure that all of the juice was released. The grape mixture was then strained through a fine mesh strainer into a large bowl and set aside in the refrigerator for a few hours to allow the sediment to settle on the bottom of the bowl.  To finish the juice, I strained it a second time and poured into a glass.

For the raspberry plum sauce, I peeled and chopped five plums and placed them into a saucepan with a cup of fresh raspberries and 1/2 a cup of sugar.  This was brought to a simmer over medium heat and allowed to cook until thickened, stirring constantly to avoid the mixture from sticking to the bottom of the pan. It took about 10 minutes to cook and was set aside to cool a bit.

I also made fresh whipped cream by adding one cup of heavy whipping cream and 2 tablespoons of sugar to a bowl and mixing on medium speed just until stiff peaks formed.

Then it was time to make the pancakes! I started off by whisking two eggs until frothy and adding 2 cups of sifted all purpose flour, 2 cups of buttermilk,1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, 3 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons of vanilla and 4 tablespoons of melted butter. This was stirred until fully combined and all lumps gone.

I heated a griddle pan and poured half a cup of batter onto the pan, cooking until brown on each side.

To assemble, I placed the pancakes on a plate, topped with a (large) spoonful of the whipped cream and the raspberry plum sauce and drizzled with maple syrup. I garnished with a few fresh raspberries (just because I love raspberries and you can never have too many!).

Had I not had an insane craving for pancakes I probably would not have made this because it was just for myself, however I am SO glad that I did!  In fact, this turned out so good that I even ate it for breakfast today. (I can't remember the last time I had breakfast on a weekday, but it was literally the reason I got out of bed this morning!)

The juice also turned out amazing! I only wish that I had more grapes so that I could make it again tonight.

Stuffed Cucumber

This is a dish that I made for dinner one evening last week.  It was such a big hit that my daughter not only ate all of hers, but finished mine and had the leftovers for lunch the next day!

I started out by peeling my beautiful (and huge) cucumber, slicing it in half and scooping out the seeds. For the filling I mixed together ricotta cheese, cream cheese, cottage cheese, the last of my garlic scapes, finely chopped onion, and minced mushrooms. I then filled both halves of the cucumber with the cheese mixture, poured a jar of vodka sauce over the top, sprinkled with cheese and chopped basil and finished with some sliced heirloom tomato for garnish.

This was baked in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes, long enough for the cheese to brown and the cucumber to be fully warmed through. I served some sliced french bread alongside.

After this meal, my daughter exclaimed "You can stuff anything!", and has been inspired to try and come up with a few of her own dinner ideas. I think maybe it won't be much longer and she will have a food blog of her own!

Salad with Chipotle & Lemon Herb Shrimp and Creamy Avocado Dressing

I figured it was time to make a salad. It's been a while and I had this beautiful big leafy green lettuce, but what to put on it?  Well, this was my cue to head to the store with Dylan for some inspiration. As we were sampling our way down the aisles, we found some wonderful cheese, bread and shrimp. (The guys at the seafood counter were more than happy to give us samples of pretty much everything, Dylan thought this was pretty cool.)  I also found some beautiful green heirloom tomatoes that I just couldn't pass up along with some avocado, which just sounded good at the time.

Once back at home, it was time to start making dinner.  I began by chopping the lettuce and some fresh kale, placing into a large colander and rinsing with cold water. This was set aside to drain while I prepared the first dressing (yes, there is more than one dressing in this salad!). 

For the basic dressing, I added white wine vinegar to a bowl with chopped garlic scapes, finely chopped onion, sea salt and fresh black pepper. This was whisked while I added in the olive oil. Once fully combined, I poured the oil and vinegar mixture over top of the lettuce (now in a large bowl) and tossed to make sure that all of the lettuce was coated.

Next, I toasted up some slices of both french and seeded french bread in a little olive oil over medium high heat in a large skillet.

Finally, I made the avocado dressing. In a food processor, I placed one peeled, pitted avocado, the juice from half a lime and a few tablespoons of olive oil. This was blended until smooth and creamy (adding more olive oil to get the right consistency).

To assemble, I placed a large pile of lettuce in the middle of a plate which was then covered in shaved carrot and shaved cheese (unfortunately, I can't remember the name of this cheese, but it was delicious). I also chopped the remaining hot capicola and sprinkled this on top too.  Next, I sliced some cucumber and zucchini, quartered the heirloom tomatoes and coarsely chopped a bit of nectarine, adding this to the plate as well. Then I topped the whole thing with a large spoonful of the avocado dressing and a few chipotle shrimp, as well as some lemon herb shrimp.

Can I just say, I am getting hungry just thinking about how good this salad turned out last night, although I would have been perfectly satisfied just making the avocado dressing and dipping the shrimp in it, or maybe just grabbing a spoon and eating the dressing as is. (Yes, it really is that tasty!)

Friday Bin 8/5/11

Once again, this is late in coming but better late than never I suppose! (I've been told that the lack of internet at my house is supposed to be getting resolved soon, but we'll see.)

My bin was pretty basic this time, I still have quite a bit of produce left in my fridge from previous bin's so I didn't really see the point in adding to much more to it this time. Basic however, does not mean boring. I have a ton of great looking items that should make for some pretty good meals when added to what I do already have.

Bi-Color Corn
Local Crookneck Squash
Local Green Beans
Local Heirloom Lettuces
Local New Potatoes
Local Cucumbers
Cantaloupe
Bananas
Arctic Jays-White Nectarines
Black Catalina Plums
Black Grapes
Bananas

The black grapes are my favorite as far as grapes go and the ones that I have are big, sweet and juicy! Hopefully I can find a good use for these this week.  Also, the cucumber that I received is rather large, in fact the biggest cucumber that I've ever come across, so I'm thinking I need to figure out a way to showcase this too.

Panzanella...Maybe?

According to Fine Cooking, amongst other places, panzanella is an Italian salad that uses chunks of toasted bread to soak up the flavors of the dish. Although none of the recipes that I came across had cooked greens in them, I'm calling this dish a panzanella too. If for no other reason than I just like to say it! (It makes it sound like I just made a really cool, complicated dish, when in reality I just threw a bunch of stuff into a pot and called it good!)

I first cut up half a loaf of sourdough french bread into bite sized chunks and drizzled with olive oil to coat. This was then added to a large pan and "toasted" until just beginning to brown and set aside.

To a large stock pot I added chopped chard stems, onion and garlic scapes with olive oil and sauteed until soft. Next I added one chicken breast chopped into bite sized pieces. Once the chicken was almost fully cooked, I added a few spoonfuls of fire roasted diced tomatoes, salt and black pepper. Then I added chopped hot capicola, chopped kale and the chopped chard leaves along with 1/2 a cup of white wine.  This was covered and allowed to simmer until all of the greens were wilted, about 4 minutes.

To plate this dish, I added a handful of the toasted bread to the bottom of the bowl, topped with a few spoonfuls of the chicken and greens, a few more bread chunks and finished it off with some diced mustard and ale cheddar.

For not having any clear idea of what it was that I was going to do for dinner last night, I'd say this turned out pretty great. It had a bit of heat to it (from the capicola) without being overpowering. The bread was also a wonderful addition and soaked up all of the juices at the bottom of the bowl quite nicely.

Tomato, Onion and Zucchini Stacks

This was inspired by a recipe that I came across in the current Fine Cooking magazine. It was very simply, very quick and turned out delicious plus I was able to use up most of my ricotta left over from the previous meals.

I started off by slicing tomatoes, zucchini and an onion, brushed both sides with olive oil and heated a grill pan over medium high heat. I grilled the zucchini and onion first for about 2 minutes on each side, then I grilled the tomatoes and wiped the pan out with paper towels.  The assembly was easy, just place a tomato slice on the plate and top with zucchini, then onion, tomato, zucchini and finish with another tomato slice. Each stack was topped with a spoonful of ricotta mixed with fresh chopped basil and garlic scapes, then sprinkled with sea salt, fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

To go with these stacks and turn it into more of a light dinner than an appetizer, I grilled thinly sliced country bread brushed with olive oil and cooked up some bacon.

Even though it was a bit messy to eat, it was well worth it. This was a great way to showcase the flavor of the beautiful tomatoes and zucchini that I got in my bin and would be excellent to make with heirloom tomatoes!

Fava Bean and Ricotta Toasts

Unfortunately yesterday was not a good day, so Dylan and I decided on ice cream for dinner. However, we were really wanting to make something with these fava beans and chose to do a late evening snack while we watched a movie.

This is a relatively simple dish and the only time consuming task about it is the shelling, cooking, rinsing and peeling of the fava bean's themselves. In fact, if I hadn't had Dylan to help me with this, I might still be standing at the kitchen counter peeling each one of those individual beans! Once this was out of the way though, everything else was easy.

I sliced a loaf of fresh country bread into 8 slices and laid them out on a baking sheet. These were baked at 375 degrees for about 10 minutes, just until toasted.  Next I took halved garlic cloves and rubbed them all over one side of each slice of toast. Then I spread a spoonful of ricotta cheese on each slice and topped with the fava beans, a drizzle of olive oil, finely sliced basil, sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

This was delicious. I will say though, if you decide to make this at home, roast the garlic prior to spreading it all over the toast slices. Not only will this give it a wonderful garlic flavor without the harshness of the raw garlic, but your body (and your friends, family and significant others) will thank you for it later. I spent an entire night laying next to my daughter who had eaten 5 of these garlicky treats and insisted on breathing on me all night long!
Lesson learned.

Lamb Sausage with Pilaf and Potatoes

Now that I'm starting to redeem myself in the meat cooking department, I decided that it was time to once again give these lamb sausages a try. They are after all the reason I got the bad rap in the first place. So, I filled a skillet about halfway with water, placed the lamb, sage and garlic sausages in the water, let them simmer for a few minutes on each side and put the lid on. I continued to cook them until all of the water was gone and they were fully cooked through (from experience, I know that they are in fact supposed to have a pink color in the middle so I did my best not to overcook them this time). Then I browned them on each side and allowed them to rest for a few minutes before slicing them.

For the potatoes, I diced some new potatoes, onions, turnips and chopped some garlic scapes and added this to a large frying pan with olive oil and butter. I allowed this to cook until the potatoes started to soften and sprinkled with a little Mediterranean sea salt blend (lavender, lemon zest, sea salt, etc.), red pepper, paprika and fresh ground black pepper.  Once the potatoes started to brown and were fully cooked through, I added about a cup of chopped spinach and some fresh thyme. This continued to cook just until the spinach was wilted.

As for the pilaf, I found a great Harvest Pilaf blend at Whole Foods Market when I picked up the sausages. It has a mixture of wild rice, orzo, red and green lentils. The directions said to add one cup of the pilaf to 2 1/4 cups of boiling water and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. I followed the directions exact and yet somehow I still managed to run out of water and over cook it by about 10 minutes so it ended up a bit dry.

The final verdict...the sausage turned out great! Just like it was supposed to! Yay!!! The potatoes didn't turn out so bad either and even though the pilaf was dry, it still had a really good flavor to it. So maybe now that I have this down I can move onto mastering other meats!

Friday Bin 7/29/11

This whole not having internet at my house right now thing is really causing me to get behind in my posts! Hopefully it will get resolved soon, but for now unfortunately they are going to continue being a bit late.

I have a few items in my bin that I'm really happy about and looking forward to cooking with. I also seem to have an abundance of fruit so I'm thinking it's time to do a bit of baking!

Local Carrots with Tops
Local Fava Beans
Local New Potatoes
Local Zucchini
Local Cucumber
Local Jr. Turnips
Local Lacinato Kale
Local Leaf Lettuce
Walla Walla Sweet Onions
Valencia Oranges
Dark NW Cherries
Black Grapes
Tomatoes
Bananas

The fava beans are a brand new item for me, I'm not even sure that I know what they taste like so I may need to scope the internet for some ideas on this one. As for the rest, I've already got several ideas going I just hope that I have enough time to fit them all in!