Gazpacho

I'm half expecting balloons and confetti to fall from the ceiling when I post this recipe. Maybe a high school band will burst through my front door playing something loud and festive. Then they'd applaud me. If this happens, I admit I'll be stunned, and maybe even a little upset at the band for interrupting Henry's nap. But I'll just be pretend-mad, because deep down I'll really be happy (who wouldn't be, right!?). Happy because I finally got my act together and posted something tomato related IN AUGUST. Woah. See, a celebration is indeed called for.

I made this gazpacho as a first course for a dinner I cooked with my friend Philippe, but I'm not going to tell you about that now, I'll tell you about that next. But what I will share now is that when I write that I cooked with my friend Philippe, that's code for "Philippe did all the cooking and I watched. And then ate". Keep that in mind when you read what I post after this recipe.

But back to the gazpacho. If there's ever a time to be making this, it's now. Tomatoes are at their peak and it's hot and summery outside. You can call this a soup, but it's really more like a liquid salad. A refreshingly delicious one at that.

Gazpacho

A word of advice: buy the best tomatoes you can. You want quality for this. 

Ingredients:

6 to 7 ripe tomatoes, peeled* and chopped

1 red onion, finely chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and chopped

1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 teaspoons sugar

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

6 or more drops of Tabasco sauce to taste

4 cups tomato juice

1) Combine all ingredients. Blend slightly in a food processor or with an immersion blender, to desired consistency. Place in a non-metal, non-reactive storage container. Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight, allowing flavors to blend.

*Easy peel those tomatoes! Score an "x" on the bottom of each tomato with a knife and immerse in boiling water for approximately one minute (until you see the skin start to come loose at the "x"). Remove tomatoes and place in ice water. The tomato skin will now easily peel off.

Pizza with Red & Yellow Peppers

If you haven't already baked a thousand and one pizza pies and become an expert at throwing your basic pizza dough up into the air like a professional, then here is the perfect reason to break out your yeast and dust off your bag of flour.

When I wrote about the shaved asparagus pizza, I mentioned that I'd make it a goal to see what else I could shave and pile on top of pizza dough. And even though my follow-through on food related promises is very laughable (stop laughing), I was serious. Really! I was *this close* to picking up my vegetable peeler, kissing the family farewell, and setting off in search of the next great pizza topping.

Luckily, my friends Mike and Stacey saved the day by showing up for dinner and mentioning what has been their pizza obsession, and it goes something like this: thinly sliced bell peppers! Red onion! Fresh herbs! Cheese! 

If you don't have at least one dinner a week dedicated to pizza, as we do, you might want to try this out and see what transpires. Fridays, I've found, make great pizza nights.

Pizza with Red & Yellow Peppers
Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables, by Alice Waters


Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (any mix of red, orange or yellow)
1/2 of a small red onion
1/4 cup parsley
1/4 cup basil leaves
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 ounces mozzarella cheese
1 clove garlic
basic pizza dough, or your preferred pizza dough for one 12-inch pizza

1) Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

2) Thinly slice the peppers and onion and roughly chop the herbs. Toss in a bowl with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mince the garlic and mix it with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3) Roll out your pizza dough and place it on a pizza pan sprinkled with cornmeal. Using a pastry brush or your fingers, brush on the garlic/oil mixture, leaving a 1/2-inch border.

4) Sprinkle on the grated cheese and spread the pepper mixture on top of that. Bake the pizza for 10 to 12 minutes or until the dough is crispy and thoroughly cooked.

Potato Salad with Whole-Lemon Vinaigrette

When I read blog posts bashing traditional mayonnaise-based potato salad, it makes me sad, because when I summon my happy potato salad memories (we all have these, right?), the first to come to mind are those involving my grandma's salad, dressed in all its creamy goodness. In fact, maybe if you asked, perhaps you'd find out that sometimes I even thought the salad could've used more mayo, but no, I would never openly admit to that, at least not here, because it might leak back to my grandma and then I'd have some serious explaining to do.

So why then, after saying all that, am I posting a non-mayo recipe? Because when I read in the recipe that you throw a whole lemon into the food processor, I thought, "awesome", and kind of stared off into space thinking about it. I know it's just a lemon, but it sounded like a misprint to me, as if the recipe were asking me to throw in an entire watermelon, or something equally absurd. Surely, I thought, the recipe means I have to zest then juice the lemon. But no, I could find no small print or footnotes or hidden messages to be decoded with my decoder ring saying the contrary.

So it is because I became obsessed with food processing that lemon that you are now reading this post. And this is a good thing for a few reasons. The most important being that I really enjoyed this salad, but also, because a holiday that screams for backyard parties which themselves scream for potato salad is coming upon us, and while I'm not trying to tell you what to do, I'll just mention that this salad actually tastes best at room temperature and won't need to be thrown out after you forget to refresh the ice it's been sitting in out on the backyard picnic table.

Potato Salad with Whole-Lemon Vinaigrette

So, after luring you here with talk of throwing a whole lemon into the food processor, I'll admit that you do first have to cut it into quarters, or whatever size is necessary, so that the seeds can be removed. It does take some of the fun away, but it's a step I wouldn't recommend skipping. Sorry.

Ingredients:
3 pounds large Yukon gold potatoes, unpeeled
1 whole lemon
2/3 cup olive oil
2 large cloves garlic
salt
pepper
1/4 fresh mint
sliced scallions (optional)

1) Scrub potatoes and place in a large pot of salted water. Bring to a rapid boil, then lower heat and cook until tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. Drain well under cold water and refrigerate overnight, or until very cold.

2) Peel potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch cubes. Place in large bowl.

3) Cut off ends of lemon and cut into quarters to remove seeds. Place lemon wedges (rind and all) in a food processor with olive oil and garlic. Process several minutes until smooth. Add salt to taste.

4) Pour dressing over potatoes and toss gently. Salt and pepper to taste.

5) Thinly slice the mint, or pulse a few times in the food processor and toss with the potatoes. Toss in some scallions if desired.

Chipotle Hummus

I believe one of the cruelest tricks the Universe can play on someone is to make that person sick, then make that person's husband sick, and then to stick those two people in an apartment with a teething 9 month old baby boy who just learned how to crawl. I'm not complaining, but these last few days have been a bit challenging.

It all started innocently enough - we just wanted a vacation. So we packed up the wee one and his three truckloads-worth of essentials and whisked ourselves away to a rented cottage at our favorite bed & breakfast in Joshua Tree. And it was great. We lounged. We snoozed. We put on mini swim trunks and amazed ourselves with splashing (some of us did, anyway). Then all of that relaxation was forgotten as we sat in traffic on our way back to reality and wallowed in our newly acquired colds. Sigh.

Needless to say, most of the "cooking" that's been done lately has involved a can opener and some hastily purchased cans of chicken soup. However, before leaving on our trip, I made sure to stock up on the ingredients for my friend Jennica's chipotle hummus, so, in between napping and chasing after the baby, I was able to make up a batch, which made me happy, because this stuff is delicious and because, in my opinion, you can never have enough hummus around - especially when you eat it by the spoonful.

Chipotle Hummus
from Paulo Avery Wellman


This recipe can yield a pretty spicy hummus, but if you don't do spicy it's possible to dial down the kick by adding some water and lemon juice, which is what I did merely because I couldn't fathom adding as much olive oil to the recipe as it would take to reach the consistency I was going for.

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
4 cloves garlic
2 chipotle peppers from a can of peppers in adobo sauce
1 tablespoon of tahini paste
1-1/2 tablespoons of ground cumin
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 tablespoon of fresh parsley
salt to taste
extra virgin olive oil (approximately 1/2 cup)*

In a food processor or blender add garlic and pulse until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients through parsley and blend. While blending, slowly pour in olive oil stopping periodically to scrape down the sides and check the hummus consistency. Continue adding oil until hummus reaches a consistency of your liking. Add salt as needed. Garnish with chopped parsley and paprika.

*In addition to the oil, I added 1/2 cup of water and the juice from half a lemon.

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

Eggplant has heard some rumors that it may have lost its title as my most favorite pizza topping ever, and, between you and me, eggplant is a little emotional about this. I'm going to let eggplant sweat it out a little longer, and then I'll let it know that it hasn't lost any title, but it may have to share, especially now that I've tasted how amazing shaved asparagus tastes on pizza.

Last weekend we had some good friends over for dinner and in between the moment of inviting them to dinner and the moment they arrived, I swapped out a million different dinner menu scenarios in my head. One of them was several courses long, including a separate cheese course and ending with a triple layer chocolate cake (!). Delicious, indeed, and I would've loved to have made that menu happen, but I was getting in WAY over my head. And then it hit me: pizza! Everyone loves pizza, and I can make a few different ones. Throw in a salad and this, and you're set! And my sanity remains in check. A win-win for everyone!

Shaved Asparagus Pizza

from Smitten Kitchen

Pizza is already a relatively simple dinner to make, but this recipe takes simple to a whole new level. It also leaves me with one nagging question: what else can I shave and pile onto pizza dough? Sounds like a project!

Ingredients:

1 pre-made 12-inch thin crust, or your favorite homemade pizza dough

1/2 pound asparagus

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

1 scallion, thinly sliced

1) Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F.

2) Holding an asparagus spear by its tough end, lay it flat on a cutting board and peel using a vegetable peeler, creating long shavings. It doesn't matter if they don't all come out thin or perfect. Discard tough ends. Toss shavings with olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl.

3) Sprinkle pizza dough with parmesan, then mozzarella cheeses. Pile on the asparagus. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and the asparagus is slightly charred. Remove from oven and sprinkle with the scallions. Slice and serve!

Braised Red Cabbage

I avoided cooked cabbage for a good many years due to a run-in at the dinner table with a dish called pigs-in-a-blanket during my childhood. I'm sure the dish was prepared correctly, because it seems to match up to other chance meetings I've had with the poorly named dish throughout the years, but I couldn't stand it; the way it looked, the way it smelled, the way it mocked me from the plate. Ever since that day, there has been a huge gaping hole in my culinary world, a huge gaping cabbage-shaped hole.

Which is a shame, really, because cooked cabbage can be so very very good. I was reminded of this a few weeks ago when I was taken to lunch by my boss and she recommended the braised red cabbage for a side dish. She's French, and her dad was a chef, so if she handed me a plate of dirt and told me it was the best tasting around, I would take it with a smile. Luckily for me, this cabbage tasted nothing like dirt, and I inhaled it fearing that somehow someone was going to try to take it away from me. I have dreamed of this cabbage since that day. Does this give you any idea about how great this cabbage was?

I tried recreating it at home with a Martha Stewart recipe, and it was OK (sorry, Martha!), but it wasn't worthy of telling you about. However, a few nights ago, I stumbled upon a cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday last year and, flipping through it, discovered a recipe for braised red cabbage. Of course, all other cooking plans were shoved aside, and I tried this out immediately. The result? A braised cabbage that has made me very very happy.

Braised Red Cabbage

from Mother's Best by Lisa Schroeder

The cabbage I had at the restaurant was topped with warm goat cheese, which I didn't happen to have at home when I made this, but plan to have on hand the next time.

Ingredients:

4 large granny smith apples

3 pounds red cabbage (1 head)

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup dry red wine

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

fresh ground pepper to taste

1 bay leaf

1) Peel the apples and grate them on a grater, rotating the apple as you reach the core. Remove any damaged outer leaves from the cabbage and cut the head in quarters. Cut out the tough core and then slice the cabbage into shreds.

2) Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or stockpot over medium-high heat for a few minutes. Add the onions and saute until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add the apples and saute for another 3 minutes, or until a little soft.

3) Add the vinegar, red wine, and sugar, stirring to scrape up any browned bits. Stir in the cabbage and toss to coat. Add the cloves, pepper and bay leave. Stir.

4) Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until cabbage is tender. Remove from heat and serve.

Spaghetti in Tomato Apple Sauce

Having a good basic pasta sauce included in your cooking repertoire is key to being able to whip up a quick meal when you've just realized you've forgotten, somehow, yet again, that dinner is a meal that happens nightly and, oh yeah, you're the one who plans/shops for/cooks/eats it.

Don't misunderstand me, there's nothing wrong with keeping a few jars of your favorite store-bought sauce in the pantry. I have a few in my own. But sometimes you might want something a little fresher tasting. A sauce with an ingredient list that doesn't include the words "dehydrated" or "natural flavor", but does include apples.

Apples?

Yes! Trust me.

Spaghetti con salsa di Pomodorie e Mele

Spaghetti in Tomato Apple Sauce

Adapted from Lidia's Italy

This sauce is great because it cooks up so quickly and tastes so fresh. Apples may seem a strange ingredient, but shredded, they create a really great texture, feel and flavor.

Ingredients:

3 cups canned Italian plum tomatoes

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 - 3 large celery stalks, cut into 1/4-inch dice (about 1 cup)

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound apples, tart & firm, such as Granny Smith

1 pound spaghetti

1 cup parmigiano reggiano cheese, freshly grated

1) Pour canned tomatoes into food processor or blender and puree until smooth

2) Heat olive oil in large skillet or pot set over medium heat. Add the chopped celery and onion and cook for about 5 minutes, until they soften.

3) Stir in the pureed tomatoes, season with salt, and heat to a bubbling simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or so. As the tomatoes cook, peel and core the apples, remove the seeds and shred with a grater.

4) Stir the apples into the sauce. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the apple shreds are cooked and tender.

5) As the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the spaghetti until just about al dente. Drain the pasta and then place it into the simmering sauce. Toss the pasta until all the strands are coated and perfectly al dente (or cooked to your liking). Sprinkle with grated cheese and toss well.

6) Serve, passing more cheese at the table.

Winter Squash Stew

After some deep thought, I've arrived at this conclusion: Mother Nature must read my blog, but the Universe has it in for me. You see, after my last post, in which I grumbled about the heat and the need for more "Fall-like" weather, the temperatures started to actually cool off! "This was more like it", I thought! "You're welcome Los Angeles!", I silently said to people on the street, as if I had some sort of clout with the big Lady controlling the seasons. And then...everything that could keep me from cooking did its darndest stand in the way of me and my cocina.

There was the moving, of course; all that packing and unpacking (I've had my fill of boxes, thank you very much). Then there was discovering that we had a brand new oven in our apartment (hooray!) but no one seemed in a hurry to hook it up for us (we tried, but crucial doodads - technical term - were missing). A sketchy Internet connection has not pleased me, either, but we're dealing with that.

There was also all of the out-of-state travel that we had to do in October, but I can't really complain about that, because we got to spend time with wonderful friends. And we ate well. Really well. And, just between us, if you're ever invited to a wedding that's held at a YMCA camp, GO! And eat as much as you can, because the food is amazing. So amazing that I had to meet the cooks and tell them so. Their response? "This is camp. That's how we roll". And then they set out a platter of handmade mini breakfast quiches. Swoon.

The good news, though, is that we are finally here, moved into our spacious castle, and the cocina has been unpacked and reorganized and looks, if I do say so myself, simply lovely.

I've been breaking in the new oven, filling the new apartment with wonderful smells and filling the refrigerator with the most delicious stew I've tasted in a long while.

Winter Squash Stew

The prep time on this recipe can be a little long, but don't let all the chopping stop you from making this. You'll see from the directions below that once everything is prepped, this stew comes together fast.

This recipe is also open for interpretation. I increased the amount of tomatoes because I wanted a stronger tomato base. *I also added the apples because they pair so well with squash. Using both dried and fresh is not mandatory, I was going for different textures. *The next time I make this, I will likely use 2 cans of beans. Taste as you go and you'll discover what you like. I suggest serving the stew over rice and pairing with a nice crusty bread and a glass of wine.

2 tbsp olive oil

1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped onion

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 (14.5) oz cans diced tomatoes

1 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped

1 medium russet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 cup dried apple slices -or- two apples cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used Granny Smith + some chopped dried apple slices)*

1 small sugar pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes

3 cups vegetable stock (+ more if needed)

2 tsp ground cumin

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper, or to taste

1 (15 oz) can black beans*, drained and rinsed

1/4 cup dry cooking sherry

Heat the oil in a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes). Add the remaining ingredients. Increase heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and the broth has thickened.

Roasted Pumpkin Slices

I was in college the first time I was introduced to the astonishing fact that pumpkin could be eaten in forms other than pie or bread. I was visiting an out-of-town friend and we went to a Lebanese restaurant for dinner. As we were looking over the menus her sister leaned over and said to me, "I recommend the pumpkin."

The fact that these words perplexed me and that it had to be explained that pumpkin was excellent cooked other ways goes to show how little fresh squash I ate growing up. I ended up ordering a savory stew with pumpkin, sopping up every last drop with flat bread. I didn't lick the bowl, but rest assured that I wanted to.

So now Fall is here and pumpkins are everywhere. This is my favorite time of year, and I know I'm not alone in this. It's usually hard to resist crisp fresh air scented with apples, the beautiful sight of trees blazing in deep fall colors. There's just one problem: I'm in Southern California right now, where it's sunny and 90 degrees. I a mid-western girl born and raised, and this does not make me happy. Especially after being teased earlier this week by rain and clouds, gray skies and cold air. That's Fall!

Sure, I'm blessed to have great weather, and to be surrounded by farmer's markets that are open year 'round stocked full of delicious local produce. And, OK, rain is great when you're home cocooned in a fleece blanket with a good book and a mug of tea, not when you're running through a parking lot full of puddles in heels. But Fall can be so fleeting, so humor me, please.

If Fall won't come to me, I'll create it as best I can. Which means if you come over to visit, be prepared to be offered a hot mug of mulled cider. And don't mind the sweltering heat, I'm just roasting pumpkin in the oven. Perhaps we should take our cider by the pool? 

Roasted Pumpkin

All pumpkin varieties are edible, but your best bet for baking and texture are the small "sugar" or "sugar pie" varieties you see at the store. Like any other winter squash, you don't need to season the slices as I have described below, you can simply roast and enjoy.

It was hot the day I roasted my pumpkin, so when it cooled I simply cut it into pieces and tossed it with some fresh lettuce I had on hand. I drizzled it lightly with white balsamic vinegar. Accompanied with a glass of white wine, and some homemade bread, it made a really nice lunch

1 small pumpkin (2 to 3 pounds)

1 tablespoon canola or other neutral oil

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Cut the pumpkin from top to bottom, into wedges. Discard seeds and strings and spread slices on a lightly oiled baking sheet (or one covered with aluminum foil).

2) Whisk together the oil and other ingredients and brush onto the pumpkin slices. Bake for about 25 minutes, then brush again. Bake an additional 20 to 30 minutes, or until done.

3) Cool and then peel from skin. 

Rosemary Flatbread with Dried Figs, Carmelized Onions, and Blue Cheese

Last weekend Jason was whisked away to Las Vegas with our friend Scott for some sort of man-weekend that, from what I heard when they got back, involved getting vertigo at the Hoover Dam and eating lots of candy. There was some other stuff too, like eating good food, gambling, and seeing the sites, but I prefer to dwell on the fun details.

I had been looking forward to my weekend home alone, but couldn’t quite decide what to do. Should I eat ice cream out of the container while watching chick flicks? How about an at home manicure and pedicure while sipping champagne and eating cheese I don’t have to share? Or maybe I could go for really long hikes and then lounge poolside?

Doesn’t that sound like a wonderful weekend?

Well, here’s what I really did. I cleaned. I mean, I cleaned. Things were scrubbed with old toothbrushes. Furniture that hasn’t been moved in three years was shoved aside and carpet that no one ever sees was vacuumed thoroughly.

Why? Got me. It’s what I do.

But then, I sat down with an old issue of Cooking Light and started browsing and immediately earmarked about ten recipes that looked amazing. I was downright excited about some of them. This one especially. So, on a Saturday afternoon, I set out in search of needed ingredients.

I was a little irked with myself, too, because I had been at Trader Joe’s just the day before to pick up a few essentials and as I was breezing through the produce section, I saw a few containers of fresh organic figs. I stopped the cart and went so far as to pick up a container, turn it around and give it a good look. And then I put it back down. I have no idea why.

So, on this Saturday afternoon of my weekend home alone, I find myself in my car going to three stores in search of fresh figs (to be fair, I didn’t expect to find them at the first store I went to). I found none, so I ended up at Trader Joe’s, again, this time to buy a bag of dried figs, because there we no more fresh!

The original recipe calls for the extra step of oven-drying fresh figs, which is a little time consuming, but not at all impossible. Ending up with a bag of dried figs worked out nicely, though, allowing me to skip that step and arrive faster to the best part: eating the warm, crispy rosemary-scented flatbread topped with sweet figs, meaty walnuts, carmelized onions, and tangy cheese.

You must make this, and you needn’t wait until you’re home alone with a bucket of old toothbrushes and layers and layers of dust to clean. I imagine this being the centerpiece of a nice backyard get-together with good friends and an even better bottle of wine.

Rosemary Flatbread with Dried Figs, Carmelized Onion, and Blue Cheese

From Cooking Light

I seriously love this rosemary flatbread, and envision it becoming a nice go-to rustic pizza dough. Also, for those of you who are interested, at the bottom I've included the directions for oven-drying fresh figs. 

2-3/4 cups bread flour, divided

1 package dry yeast (about 2-1/4 tsp)

1 cup warm water (100 to 110 degrees F), divided

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 to 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary (I used the same amount of dried rosemary)

1-1/2 tsp salt, divided

Cooking spray

2-1/4 cups vertically sliced red onion 

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp grated orange rind

1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped

10 oven-dried figs, halved

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled blue cheese

1) Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1/2 cup flour and yeast in a large bowl , stirring with a whisk. Add 1/2 cup warm water; let stand 30 minutes. Add 2 cups flour, remaining 1/2 cup water, 1 tbsp oil, rosemary, and 1-1/4 tsp salt; stir until soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes), and add enough of remaining flour, 1 tbsp at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel tacky).

**Note: I used Fleischmann's Bread Machine yeast, which does not need to be proofed in warm water first. Therefore, I combined all of the dough ingredients mentioned in the above paragraph together at once, stirred until a soft dough formed, then kneaded on a lightly floured surface.

2) Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat all around. Cover and let rise in a warm place, 1 hour or until doubled in size. 

3) While dough rises, heat remaining 1 tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add onion and sugar; cook 15 minutes or until deep golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add remaining 1/4 tsp of salt, orange rind, and pepper. Cool mixture slightly.

4) Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

5) Punch dough down; form into a ball. Place dough on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; let rest 5 minutes. Shape dough into a 14 x 12-inch rectangle (about 1/4-inch thick). Arrange onion mixture, walnuts, and dried figs evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border on all sides. Sprinkle with cheese, gently pressing toppings into dough.

6) Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes or until flatbread is golden brown and cheese melts.

Oven-Dried Figs

These are much softer and moister than store-bought dried figs. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

10 medium light-skinned fresh figs, halved (such as Kadota, Adriatic, or Panachee); about 1 pound

Cooking spray

1) Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.

2) Arrange figs in a single layer on a foil lined baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 250 degrees for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until almost dry but still soft.

Grilled Balsamic Portobello Burgers

I was at work when I got the email from my friend Sarah. She was coming down to my neck of the woods during the week and wanted to know if I wanted to get together for lunch. Did I?! Does she know me at all?! Aside from going out for breakfast and going out for dinner, getting together for lunch ranks up right about…here on my list of favorite things to do; I just tend to not be able to do it that much because the magic beans that I bought and planted and are supposed to turn into a money tree don’t seem to want to sprout. Until they do, I will continue to savor the special occasions that lunches out with friends happen to be. 

So, after responding to her email with an all-caps YES!, I did as much of a happy dance as I could get away with doing in my cubicle without eliciting stares from my co-workers who would no doubt be questioning my sanity (more so than they do now, that is).

We decided to meet at the café attached to the Bristol Farms next door to my office building, both for convenience and because the food there happens to be quite good. We ordered and then settled in for an hour’s worth of gab and gossip. Our food arrived, and then Sarah said this:

“This is so good! I would love to know how to make this.”

Let me just say this: you should never say anything “off the record” in front of a reporter, you should never tell a secret to a 7-year-old, and you should never say the words “I’d really love to know how to make this!” in front of a food blogger. At least, not without expecting a subsequent post, like this one. Sarah is one smart cookie, though, so I expect she knew exactly what she was doing.

You know this sandwich, you really do. Marinated Portobello sandwiches are ubiquitous, and rightly so; they are so good. I’m surprised it took me this long to try my hand at making them myself. Thank goodness for lunch out with good friends.

Grilled Balsamic Portobello Burgers

From Martha Stewart's Everyday Food

I've mentioned it before, but I do not own a grill. A real, outdoor one, that is. What I do have now, care of my very generous neighbors, is a large George Foreman grill. It worked perfectly to make this sandwich. 

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp coarse salt

1/4 tsp ground pepper

1 red bell pepper (ribs & seeds removed), quartered (1 pepper was not enough for all the sandwiches this makes, next time I would use 2 or 3)

8 portobello mushrooms, stems removed

8 hamburger buns

5 ounces fresh goat cheese

lettuce leaves

1) In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Place the bell pepper and mushrooms in a shallow dish (or a big plastic bag - my 9 x 13 pan was way too small for all of this) and pour the marinade over, making sure to coat everything well. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight.

2) Heat grill to medium; lightly oil grates. Grill bell pepper*, skin side down, until blackened, about 10 minutes; remove from grill. When cool enough to handle, remove and discard skin; set bell pepper aside. Grill mushrooms, covered, until lightly charred and tender, 3 to 4 minutes per side.

3) Assemble burgers: top the bottom half of each bun with lettuce, goat cheese, bell pepper, and a mushroom. Close burgers and serve immediately.

*Note:

You can also roast the red bell peppers in the oven at 350 degrees F for one hour, turning every so often so they evenly blacken. Then cool and peel as instructed above. 

Spinach & Pine Nut Quiche

I was called upon to fulfill my civic duty of serving jury duty today, and because I'm a good citizen (and because it's kind of obligatory) I dragged myself out of bed, hopped on the subway, and arrived to the courthouse only sit in a room full of 136 other people for 8 long hours. I clearly played a crucial role in the justice system today.

When I wasn't nodding off in my chair, avoiding the extremely sweaty guy, or getting dressed down by the courthouse security guards for accidentally putting my bagged lunch on the security x-ray conveyor belt despite the posted sign (it was early; I was tired) I got in some good reading, which led to an interesting conversation about Alice Waters with my neighbor, who was also a fellow reader and food appreciator. 

None of this, however, has anything to do with the quiche that I want to tell you about. (How's that for a segue?)

The quiche came about when I was given a bottle of what I was told was an excellent Pinot Noir from the Russian River Valley. Like any normal person who is given a bottle of wine, I immediately thought "dinner party!" (right? That's what you'd think, too?) and invited some friends over who I knew would appreciate this impromptu get-together. 

So I had the wine, but no idea what to make to go with it. I opened my highly organized binder (ha!) of recipes torn from various magazines and newspapers over the years hoping to find inspiration. I didn't. I found it in my highly organized massive stack of recipes torn from magazines and newspapers that was sitting on top of my new tart pan.

I am not an expert on pairing foods with wine, so if you are, and you're reading this and cringing, I'm sorry. But it turned out well. So well, that I made this quiche twice more that next week for dinner.

Spinach & Pine Nut Quiche

Adapted from the Whole Foods Market Cookbook via the L.A. Times

I wish I could say that I made a wonderful homemade crust, but I have a freezer full of pie crusts left over from some random buying spree when I was making a lot of pies. I promise you a good pie crust in the future.

1 frozen 9-inch ready made pie crust, regular or whole wheat

1-1/2 tbsp olive oil

2 large cloves garlic, sliced

6 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed & dried

1 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 tsp dried sage or 1 tbsp fresh sage, chopped

1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated

1 cup milk

2 large eggs

1 large red potato, steamed until firm-tender, sliced in 1/4-inch thick slices

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. 

Remove pie crust from freezer and thaw for 10 minutes. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake for 7 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the crust from the oven to cool.

Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, pepper, and sage. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute, or until the spinach is just wilted. Stir in the pine nuts.

In a small bowl, mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. In another bowl, whisk the milk and eggs together.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture on the pie crust. Top with half the spinach mixture. Place the potato slices on top of the spinach. Add half of the remaining cheese, and then top with the remaining spinach mixture. Top with the rest of the cheese.

Place the pie pan on a cookie sheet. Carefully pour in the milk mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool slightly before serving.

Leftover Ingredient Alert!

If you just made the Roasted Beet Salad, you should have leftover pine nuts to use in this quiche!

Chickpea Ratatouille

Much of the feedback that I have received from readers relates to how easy a lot of my posted recipes are to prepare. You're thankful of that because you, like me, like to have lives outside of the kitchen. Although I am that weird kind of person that actually enjoys coming home from a long day at work and cooking dinner, I don't want the meal preparation to take up the entire evening. Even better, I'd like to dirty as few dishes as possible while I am in the kitchen. Better still, I'd like to prepare something on Sunday and have it keep in the refrigerator for an appetizing dinner I can reheat during the week. This is where a delicious dish with a strange name makes perfect sense.

Ratatouille (pronounced rat-a-too-ee) is a traditional French vegetable stew. It is usually made with eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, onions and spices and is known for its versatility: it can be eaten alone or as a side dish, served over pasta, over crusted bread, as a filling in crepes, in eggs, etc. It's also a great way to use up an abundance of vegetables.

This version of ratatouille is a little different in that chickpeas are the predominant ingredient and the cider vinegar gives it a subtle tang that complements the additions of ginger, honey and allspice. I normally serve this over rice to make a more filling meal and make the stew stretch over a few weekdays, but part of the fun of making a ratatouille is finding creative ways serve it.

Chickpea Ratatouille

3 cups canned chickpeas (2 14.5 oz cans is a good equivalent)

1 red onion, finely chopped

3 - 4 garlic cloves, minced

28 oz can of diced tomatoes, undrained

1 red or orange bell pepper, chopped

2 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger (or about 1 tsp ground ginger)

2 tsp honey

2 tsp ground yellow mustard seed

2 tsp dried basil

1 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried rosemary

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp allspice

Freshly ground pepper to taste

2 bay leaves

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees

2.) Mix all ingredients in ONE bowl

3.) Transfer to a baking dish (I use a 2-1/2 quart dish)

4.) Cover and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, and bake for 30 to 45 minutes more

5.) Remove bay leaves  before eating

Notes:

This recipe calls for a lot of dried herbs and spices. To save money, I generally buy my spices from a local bulk health food store. It's almost always cheaper than buying the jars in the grocery store. I re-use the small plastic containers they measure the spices into and sometimes I only buy a small amount if it's not an ingredient I use a lot (I mean, who really goes through a whole spice jar of mace quickly?). If you don't live near a bulk store like this, I also have found that World Market stores generally sell a decent selection of bagged spices for reasonable prices.

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

The very first thing I have to do is apologize for the photo above. What I have found is that it is really hard to photograph lasagna, especially when I kept comparing my photo to the one in my old issue of Cooking Light. Theirs is beautiful. Mine is not. I wanted a photo that would show all the beautiful layers of eggplant and roasted red peppers. A picture that would adequately show the melty combination of cheese and herbs and sauce. Unfortunately, you get this picture. However, because I have a husband who has spaghetti sauce running through his veins and because this is the best lasagna ever, I make this frequently and will have many more times to try my hand at snapping an acceptable picture. So, until then, I will think of the one above merely as a placeholder until something better comes along.

Enough about that already, though! Let's talk lasagna! March 20th was the first day of Spring, did you notice? It's time to celebrate with a dish that's full of fresh vegetables and herbs yet is still hearty enough to fill you up. I think this recipe will do you just fine.

I love eggplants, and cook with them as often as I can, but although there is a good amount of eggplant in this lasagna the real taste that shines through is of the red peppers. There is something about grilling/roasting red bell peppers that really brings out a sweetness that I can't get enough of. It goes perfectly in lasagna.

I  confess that although the recipe name says "grilled" vegetable lasagna, I don't own a grill, which is a tragedy. To improvise, I put the eggplant, zucchini, and peppers under the broiler until tender and a little browned. It doesn't take too long. For all of you lucky enough to own grills, I've written the recipe as it originally appears in Cooking Light below.

Grilled Vegetable Lasagna

Adapted from Cooking Light

3 eggplants, cut lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices (I think that one or two large eggplants are usually enough)

3 zucchini, cut lengthwise into 1/8-inch slices

1 tsp salt, divided

3/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 red bell peppers, quartered (or cut into 1-inch wide strips if you aren't grilling them) and seeded

1 15-oz container fat-free ricotta cheese

1 large egg

3/4 cup grated Asiago cheese, divided

1/4 cup minced fresh basil

1/4 cup minced fresh parsley

9 lasagna noodles

1 26-oz jar tomato-basil spaghetti sauce

3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

1/4 cup pesto sauce

1.) Preheat grill

2.) Coat eggplants and zucchini with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Grill eggplant and zucchini 1-1/2 minutes on each side or just until tender. Cool; combine in a large bowl.

3.) Place bell peppers on grill, skin side down. Grill 3 minutes or just until tender. Cut into 1-inch wide strips. Add to eggplant mixture.

4.) Combine ricotta cheese, egg, 1/2 cup Asiago cheese, basil, parsley, remaining 1/2 tsp salt and remaining 1/2 tsp black pepper.

5.) Cook the lasagna noodles according to package directions, omitting the salt and the fat (or, use no-boil noodles and skip this step entirely!)

6.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

7.) Spread 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 9 x 13" baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 3 noodles over tomato sauce. Top with half of the eggplant mixture. Spread half of the ricotta cheese mixture over the eggplant; sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

8.) Arrange 3 noodles and 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over cheese; cover with remaining eggplant mixture. Top with remaining ricotta cheese mixture. Spread pesto over ricotta; sprinkle with 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover with remaining 3 noodles.

9.) Spoon 1 cup spaghetti sauce over noodles. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Asiago cheese and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese.

10.) Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

*Oh, one last comment on my lasagna photo - I overcooked it and the top turned a little too crusty. Don't do that.

Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale

You didn't think I'd tell you about a great stout-enhanced cake and then not provide an equally intriguing main course, did you? I would never think of doing such a dastardly deed, and with that said, I present to you, my faithful readers, Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale.

I've been making a different version of a black bean chili for some time now, and no other recipe, no matter how hard it tried, was able to sweet-talk its way into my recipe box. I admit, I tried this recipe because of the dark ale; the amount of it and the lack of, well, any other liquid. So, my curiosity leaned more towards the "how edible is this going to be?" side rather than the "you can't go wrong with this!" side. I wasn't so nervous about adding stout to a chocolate cake because I knew, and am ashamed to admit (kind of), that chocolate + cake will end up in my belly no matter what. But this...this could end up just being a waste of two bottles of great beer (and yes, beans and vegetables, too, but also the beer...).

Well surprise, surprise! It turns out that a base of beer does a good chili make, or at least that's how you'll be structuring your sentences after a meal planned around my "March" recipes. 

Black Bean Chili with Dark Ale

Adapted from Vegetarian Times

2 tbsp olive oil

2 chipotle chiles in adobo sauce, minced*

2 tbsp ground cumin

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 medium red bell pepper, diced

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 14-oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained

24-oz dark beer (such as New Belgium 1554)

1 14-oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup fresh or frozen corn

1.) Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add chipotles and cumin; season with salt if desired. Cook 1 minute or until fragrant.

2.) Stir in onion, bell pepper, and garlic. Saute 5 to 7 minutes, or until vegetables are soft. 

3.) Stir in beans, beer, tomatoes, and corn. Bring chili to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, 45 minutes, or until thick.

*Remember the Butternut Squash Enchiladas from a few days ago? Here is recipe number two that uses those chipotle chiles you have leftover in your refrigerator. See how nicely that works out?