Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes

I recently found this simple recipe for using up some of those fresh, summer, from the garden or farmer's market tomatoes that start showing up at this time of year. It suggests using cherry, currant or grape tomatoes; we used sunsweet cherry tomatoes and it was absolutely fabulous. I personally think you could use any kind of tomato that tastes really great, cooking it in the pan will only intensify the flavor. Maybe even cut up a regular tomato into smaller pieces and use that, but probably for less cooking time.

The recipe doesn't make a lot of sauce, and you may be left wondering how in the world this is ever even going to taste good or coat the pieces of spaghetti, but trust me, it does. Somehow the flavor coats each strand of spaghetti, the flavor is just perfect, plus you have pieces of cooked tomatoes and basil mixed in, and you have perfection!

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes-serves 4

Olive oil, enough to swirl and cover the bottom of a large skillet

2 pints of cherry, currant, and/or grape tomatoes

1/2 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (we used garlic powder, not actual garlic--works just as well)

1 pound of spaghetti (we used thin spaghetti)

1/3 C thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

1 1/2 C grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (we used 3/4 to 1 C because Derk isn't a huge fan of this kind of cheese, just enough to add some cheesiness and flavor to it, but not overpower it)

Coarsely ground black pepper

-Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

-Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add half of tomatoes, sprinkle with salt, and cook, tossing occasionally, until tomatoes start to blister and collapse, 3-5 minutes. Add remaining tomatoes and cook, tossing once, for 2-3 minutes more.

-With a wooden spoon, push tomatoes to one side of pan to make room for garlic. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, 3-4 minutes, then stir gently to mix garlic and tomatoes together. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally and gently pressing tomatoes to release juices, until all tomatoes have collapsed and sauce is juicy and thick, about 4 minutes more. Remove from heat.

-Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile, gently reheat sauce. Drain pasta and immediately toss with sauce and basil. Add half of cheese and toss; add remaining cheese and toss again. Season with pepper and serve at once.

Note: I just discovered this trick when cooking pasta. Probably not exactly healthy, but it tastes really great. When directions for cooking pasta say to cook it in salted, boiling water, really give it a good amount of salt, so it's salty water, not just a pinch. You want to taste it! Then when the pasta is cooked, taste a strand of pasta before you mix it with the sauce and you'll see what I mean. It makes a big difference.

Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango

A few weeks ago my brother Mike made our family a really delicious curry and served it over quinoa instead of rice. Quinoa is something I've heard of, but never tried and fell in love with it. I'm not sure exactly what quinoa is, but I think it's a grain of some kind. It's sort of like cooking with couscous, only much healthier. The flavor is kind of nutty, with a mostly soft texture but still has a little crunch to it. Anyway, Derk and I looked up some recipes, and found this one. We tamed it down a little, especially the first time, because we don't like lots of garlic and didn't know how strong we wanted the curry flavor. So I'll put the amounts we used in parentheses.

Curried Quinoa Salad with Mango

1 1/2 C chicken stock

3/4 C quinoa

1 1/2 tsp curry powder (1)

1/4 tsp garlic powder (1/8)

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 mango, peeled, seeded and diced

3 green onions, chopped

And we also added a stalk of celery, chopped, and some sliced almonds.

-Bring chicken stock, quinoa, celery (if using), curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender, 15-20 minutes (the water will pretty much be absorbed, like couscous). Once done, scrape the quinoa into a shallow dish and allow to cool to room temperature. Stir in the mango, almonds (if using), and green onions. Serve either at room temperature or cold.

My notes: I think that adding the amount of curry powder in the recipe would be good, the 1 tsp was really tame, but I liked using less garlic. (My philosophy is that garlic should be a flavor enhancer, not the flavor.) Also, we were hungry and didn't wait for it to cool off before eating, and it tasted great. Also good cold. Would be a good side dish, but also fun to eat as a quick and easy vegetarian dinner. Oh, yes, and this is so quick and easy to make! One person who commented on this recipe said that they didn't have enough mango and added dried blueberries to it. I think this could be a pretty versatile recipe to play around with.

Bucatini All'Amatriciana with Spicy Smoked Mozzarella Meatballs

This is a recipe I found on one of the many food blogs I often read, and I have to tell you that I'm generally a meatball hater.  I know, we shouldn't be haters, but I usually hate meatballs.  Probably because most of the time to me they just taste like, well, a hamburger or maybe meatloaf. Bleh.  But for some reason this recipe caught my eye and I knew I had to try it, possibly because I knew Derk would probably like it.  So, after a few changes to the recipe I found, we came up with this:

Meatballs:

1/2 an onion, grated

1/2 C chopped fresh parsley

2 oz. (1/2 cup) fresh grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 C bread crumbs (we used panko)

1 1/2 to 2 garlic cloves, minced

2 T ketchup

1 large egg

1 tsp salt

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp dried basil

1/4 tsp dried oregano

fresh ground black pepper

8 oz. ground sirloin (all we could find was hamburger)

8oz. ground turkey

2 oz. smoked mozzarella cheese, cut into 18 cubes

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees with the rack set in the lower 1/3 of the oven.

-In a large bowl, stir together onion, parsley, Parmesan, bread crumbs, garlic, ketchup, egg, salt, red pepper flakes, basil, oregano, and pepper.  Add in beef and turkey-combine ingredients just until combined, be careful not to overmix.

-Shape the mixture into 18 meatballs (though we wound up with 16) and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Make an indent in the center of each meatball and set a cube of mozzarella inside.  Reform the meatball around the mozzarella so it is completely hidden.  Place into the oven and bake until cooked through.  Ours took about 20 to 25 minutes.

Sauce:

1 T olive oil

4 oz. diced pancetta

1/2 an onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

14.5 oz. can fire-roasted crushed tomatoes

fresh ground black pepper

salt

2 oz. (1/2 Cup) of fresh grated smoked mozzarella cheese (original recipe said Pecorino Romano, but we didn't want to buy more cheese and already had a bunch of the mozzarella)

16 oz. dry bucatini pasta, or other fun, short pasta shape

-In a medium saucepan, heat oil over medium.  Add pancetta-cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, about 5-7 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, remove the pancetta and transfer to paper-lined plate.  Stir in the onion, cook until softened, about 5-6 minutes.  Add garlic and red pepper flakes, cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add tomatoes and reserved pancetta, season with salt and fresh ground black pepper.  Simmer over medium-low, uncovered, until the sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese and season to taste with salt and pepper.

-While the sauce is cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and place in a large bowl.  Add sauce and meatballs, tossing gently to coat.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Just before serving, sprinkle with additional Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley.

--My notes:  OK, I know this recipe seems a little daunting, long and time consuming.  But it didn't take all that much time.  It's not a quick and easy one, true, but the final result and effort will be totally worth it.  Because Derk and I loved this recipe!  And we also liked using the smoked mozzarella in the sauce (instead of Pecorino, which is probably good, too, we just didn't want to spring for more cheese), we felt that it sort of tied everything together and added a really nice flavor.  The original recipe said that it should serve about 6 people, but we found that for us it was probably a little closer to 4 servings, particularly for the sauce, even considering the fact that it's not really a saucy kind of dish.  The meatballs freeze well.  If you like things a bit spicier, you could try adding in a little more red pepper flakes and garlic.  The amounts in this post were decreased by about half from the recipe I found.  Try this one out, it's really quite delicious.

Sugar Donut Muffins

I knew I had to make these muffins when Derk told me about how sugar coated donuts were his favorite. The recipe claimed that they tasted like fluffy donuts with sugar stuck all over them. So I gave them a try. And we both liked them. They did sort of seem like a donut, not too sweet, even with the sugar coating, and really easy to make. The original recipe said to brush the tops only of the muffins with melted butter before rolling in sugar, which I did, but then they sort of got gooey, squishy on top. So next time I'm leaving the butter out, because as you can see, the sugar sticks just fine without the butter.

Sugar Donut Muffins, makes 10

3/4 C sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg (but I'm tempted to try cinnamon next time)

1/4 C vegetable oil

3/4 C milk (low fat is fine)

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine (will be lumpy and dry). Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract, and stir again. Don't worry, it will smooth out after a little bit of stirring. Divide batter evenly into 10 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

When muffins are done, carefully remove from the pan and roll in sugar. Cool on wire rack.

Salmon with Capers

4 6 oz. salmon fillets
2 T olive oil
2 T capers
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
4 slices of lemon

-Heat oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat.
-Place salmon in skillet, increase heat to high. Cook 3 minutes. Sprinkle with capers, and salt and pepper. Turn salmon over and cook 5 minutes until browned. Salmon is done when it flakes easily with a fork.
-Transfer salmon to plates and garnish with lemon.

--My note: OK, this has got to be one of the fastest dinners of all time. And can I also add easiest? We really enjoyed this dish, but cut it down to just 2 pieces of salmon since there were only 2 of us. It was light, felt healthy, and tasted really quite good. Simple, but good. Sometimes, the simple dishes really shine, and we liked it a lot. We also cooked up some couscous and vegetables to go with it, and were quite happy with the results.

Palmiers

This was a new recipe I tried this past Christmas. I've seen Palmiers in bakeries, and tasted them, and when I saw this recipe, I figured I could actually do this!

Palmiers

Sugar for rolling and sprinkling

Puff Pastry (I used frozen & thawed)

Dust a work surface liberally with sugar, and then roll out the pastry into a rectangle 9 by 14 inches and about 1/4 inch thick. Trim the edges so the rectangle measures about 8 by 13 inches. Sprinkle the rectangle with sugar. Fold over 1 inch along a 13 inch side of the rectangle. Repeat on the opposite side. Sprinkle the folds with sugar and again fold over the sides 1 inch, sprinkle with sugar, and repeat until each side meets in the center of the rectangle. Pressing gently on the rolling pin, roll over the entire surface of the rectangle. This will help it hold its shape and will also lengthen it by about 1 inch. Fold the two sides of the rectangle together, folding the long sides in to meet in the center. Press gently along the sides of the rectangle to even them out, and roll over the now long, thin rectangle with the rolling pin. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Slice the rectangle crosswise into 1/4 inch wide slices. Coat the slices with sugar and arrange the slices on the prepared pan, spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Flip each cookie over and bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until brown on both sides. Let cool on the pan. Store tightly sealed in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

--My note: These really are pretty easy to make, but they burn pretty fast. So I advise checking on them starting 5 minutes before they're done. The original recipe said to bake for 25 minutes, but that was WAY too long--they were quite burnt. One recipe I saw for these said to just bake on one side, but I didn't try that version. Maybe next time. These cookies are crispy, but flaky and sugary. Really quite tasty. And a simple cookie that looks pretty impressive. I also read somewhere that someone make cinnamon sugar and coated the cookies in that. Maybe something else I'll try next time.

Update: Cinnamon sugar used in place of regular sugar was really, really good. And I noticed the second time I made these that I don't roll the pastry out to be 1/4 of an inch thick. It's probably thinner than that. I just roll out the frozen stuff so it's about 9 x 14 inches and go from there.

Pan-Roasted Pork Chops with Berry Sauce

This was an interesting recipe we found that combines pork chops with a striking sauce of blueberries. Blueberries? Yes, and well you might ask. But it actually works quite well. And when paired with mashed potatoes made of sweet potatoes, it makes for a really attractive dish.

Pork Chops and Berry Sauce - Makes 4 chops and 1 cup of sauce

4 boneless pork chops, 1/2 inch thick, halved crosswise, seasoned with salt and pepper (1 lb.)
1 T shallots, minced
1/4 C dry red wine
1 C fresh or frozen blueberries
1/2 C beef broth
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T brown sugar
1 T unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Garnish with fresh parsley and lemon wedges

-Saute pork chops in oil in large saute pan over medium-high heat for 2 minutes per side. Transfer chops to a plate and keep warm; return pan to the burner. Add shallots and saute 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
-Deglaze with wine and simmer until nearly evaporated. Stir in blueberries, broth, vinegar, and brown sugar; bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until blueberries begin to burst and sauce thickens, 2-3 minutes.
-Off heat, stir in butter and season with salt and pepper. To serve, place a mound of sweet potatoes on each plate, spoon some of the sauce over potatoes, then top with pork chops. Garnish if desired with parsley and lemon wedges.

For 4 cups of mashed sweet potatoes:

-Boiled 2 pounds of sweet potatoes, peeled, and diced, until tender. Drain, then mash with a bit of butter (3 T butter) and juice of half a lemon.

--My note: This was a really interesting dish, both flavor-wise and in appearance. Blue, orange, and then the pork chops. We really liked it. And the mashed sweet potatoes were really tasty, and could be something we do more often with other things. The recipe says to cut each chop in half because they thought it looked more interesting, but you can leave them whole if desired. If they are cut in half, serve two halves per person. If you can't find boneless pork chops, just cut out the bone like we did. Also, there is a really great brand of alcohol-free wine out there called Arial. We have found it so far at Emigration Market in Salt Lake, I believe they are an Associated Food Store, but I could be wrong.

Salmon Salad BLT

We made these Salmon Salad BLT sandwiches a few weeks ago. They tasted really great, sort of reminded me of some of those chicken salad sandwiches that people have at showers, but this one has salmon, dill, cucumbers, and bacon. Even Derk really liked these.

Salmon Salad BLT--4 sandwiches

3/4 C mayonnaise (I'd go for low-fat)
1/2 C English cucumber, seeded, diced
1/4 C plain yogurt (also low-fat)
2 T shallots, minced
2 T chopped fresh dill
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 and 1/4 pound salmon, cooked, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

For sandwiches:

Your favorite bread, toasted, romaine lettuce leaves, sliced tomato, and 8 strips of thick-sliced bacon, fried.

-Stir mayonnaise, cucumber, yogurt, shallots, dill, and lemon juice together in a bowl. Fold in salmon and season with salt and pepper.
-Toast bread, then assemble sandwiches with slice of tomato, 3/4 C salmon salad, and 2 strips of bacon.

--I would suggest adding maybe 1/2 C mayo and test to see if the salmon salad is the way you like it. If you need more mayo, then add it. We thought it was kind of juicy and there was a little too much mayo with 3/4 cup. Another nice thing about this recipe is that if you aren't able to buy the best quality salmon, or buy frozen salmon like we did, there's enough going on here that you won't notice it's not the highest quality salmon.

Sage-Crusted Pork Tenderloin w/Apple-Thyme Compote

Sage-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Apple-Thyme Compote

This time we have pictures! (It appears the above plate was a little over-excited for the apples!) We made this last week and absolutely loved it. The apples are wonderful, the herbs really add a nice flavor, and the pork was really good. I don't especially love bacon or sausage, but pork tenderloin is very good, especially when paired with a really tasty apple compote.

Serves 4

For the pork:

3/4 C fresh bread crumbs (we used panko)

1 T minced fresh sage (or 1 tsp. dried rubbed sage)

salt and pepper to taste

1 pork tenderloin, trimmed, halved crosswise (1 pound)

1 T Dijon mustard

2 T olive oil

For sauce:

1/4 C sliced shallots (about 2)

4 tsp unsalted butter, divided

1 tsp olive oil

1 C sweet-tart apple (such as Braeburn), cored, thinly sliced

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp. dried thyme)

1/4 C brandy or dry white wine

1/4 C thawed apple juice concentrate

1/4 C low-sodium chicken broth

1 tsp flour

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

-Combine bread crumbs, sage, salt, and pepper together on a baking sheet. Brush pork pieces with Dijon and roll in crumbs to coat, pressing them to adhere. Transfer to a rack and let stand 15 minutes.

-Heat 2 T oil in large ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high. (We cooked in regular skillet, then transferred to a baking dish afterwards.) Add pork and saute on 1 side until crumbs are brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Turn pieces over, transfer pan to the oven, and roast until pork reaches 150-155 degrees, about 15-20 minutes. (Ours wasn't quite done, so we cooked it a little longer, maybe 10-15 minutes, so check it first.) Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before slicing into medallions.

-Saute shallots for the sauce in 3 tsp butter and 1 tsp oil in a second nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add apple and thyme, and saute 3 minutes. Deglaze with brandy/wine, simmer until nearly evaporated, then stir in juice concentrate and broth.

-Blend remaining 1 tsp butter and flour together in a dish, whisk into boiling sauce, and simmer until thick. Season with salt and pepper.

Butternut Squash-Tangerine Soup

This is called a butternut squash soup, but it's really more citrus-y, gingery, cinnamon-y goodness. It's nice and bright, smells really great and the bits of ginger taste really great in here. The squash seems to be more of a base rather than the actual flavor. And once you realize this, you'll realize how great this soup is! Oh, and again, we got this recipe from "Cuisine At Home", the December 2008 issue.

Citrus-y, Gingery, Cinnamon-y Soup

1 lb. peeled, cubed butternut squash (4 cups)
2 T chopped fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch of saffron threads, optional
2 T unsalted butter
5 C water
1 1/2 C fresh tangerine juice or orange juice
1/4 C dried apricots
2 T honey

-Saute squash, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, and saffron for the soup in butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook until squash browns, about 5 minutes, stirring often.
-Add water, tangerine or orange juice, apricots, and honey. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, covered, until squash is tender, about 40 minutes. Let soup stand off heat for 10 minutes, then puree in a blender in batches until smooth. Return soup to pot and heat until warmed through.

The recipe also suggests making a gremolata, a garnish of sorts. We didn't opt for that, but I think it would make a nice contrast and add a little bite of flavor. The gremolata:

1/4 C chopped fresh parsley leaves
2 T chopped pistachios
1 T minced tangerine or orange zest
1/4 C plain yogurt

-Toss parsley, pistachios, and zest for gremolata together in a bowl. Spoon yogurt on each serving of soup, then garnish with parsley mixture.

The recipe says it makes 7 servings of 1 cup each. We decided it was probably closer to 4-5 servings, since, well, I don't really know anyone who actually sticks with the 1 cup serving suggestion. We definitely will make this soup again.

Black and White Chocolate Bark

This is going to be a quick one because I'm afraid we haven't tried much that was new in the past 2 weeks--busy with the holidays.

Black and White Chocolate Bark

2 C white chocolate, chopped
1 C dark chocolate, chopped
3/4-1 cup of any kind of nut or dried fruit you'd like to top it with, I used slivered almonds

--Lay out a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet (or silpat).
--In a medium-sized microwave safe bowl, melt the white chocolate (heating in 30-60 second intervals and stirring frequently until smooth. Do NOT heat until it has melted in the microwave--either it will be too hot or burned). In a small-sized microwave safe bowl, melt the dark chocolate (same method as white chocolate).
--Pour the white chocolate onto the prepared parchment paper and spread out slightly. Drizzle the dark chocolate over the top and gently smooth the chocolate into an even layer. Chocolate will probably be somewhere around 8x8 inches.
--Sprinkle nuts and/or dried fruits on top of chocolate and place baking sheet in the refrigerator until chocolate is set.
--Break up into pieces before serving.

---My note: This was super easy to make and looks really pretty. I kind of swirled the white chocolate up into the dark chocolate, which made for a prettier look, rather than just one layer of chocolate on top of another. The almonds tasted really good with this, but the person whose recipe I used liked dried cranberries and pistachios, so go with whatever you like. Also, make sure you use good quality chocolate, stuff that tastes good. If you're going for chocolate chips, which I admit, in the quest for something really easy, I did, I would recommend Guittard chips--they taste good, and their white chips are pretty tasty, too. Make sure the white chocolate contains cocoa butter in it. Wrapped up in some pretty paper and ribbon, this also makes a tasty treat to give away.

Easy Sugar Cookies

OK guys, here it is. And sorry, no picture. This recipe is inspired by one of my favorite food blogs called Baking Bites. It was originally the Vampire Cookie recipe, but we just used it as a sugar cookie recipe. It's super easy, and even the dough tastes good. I think it's probably too sweet for frosting, but sprinkling some colored sugar or sprinkles on top is fun.

Easy Sugar Cookies

3/4 C butter, softened

1/2 C sugar

1 large egg

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 tsp almond extract

1 1/2 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

Colored sugar or sprinkles, optional

-In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and extracts. Add flour and salt to the bowl and mix them into the butter-sugar mixture at low speed until dough is just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

-Divide dough in half and keep the portion you are not using in the refrigerator.

-Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Use a cookie cutter to cut out fun shapes. Dust with sugar or sprinkles, if using, and lightly press into cookies.

-Place cookies on baking sheet, bake for about 10 minutes, until cookies are set.

-Cool for about 5 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

-My note: Not really sure exactly how much this is supposed to make. Maybe about 15-20 cookies. But the scraps re-roll easily to make more, and the cookies come out a little firm, but not hard and crunchy, which to me is what a cookie should be. And like I said, really easy to make.

Turkey Chili with White Beans

This week's recipe comes from my other favorite food magazine, Bon Appetit. And I promise, this one does have easy recipes, which is what this one is. If you're used to the kind that comes from a can, this one is a bit more soupy, but it tastes great, and is as easy as opening a few cans, really. You know it's good when Derk decides to take it to work the next day for lunch rather than eat out of the vending machine. ;)

1 T vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 1/2 pounds lean ground turkey

1/4 C chili powder

2 bay leaves

1 T unsweetened cocoa powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 28-oz can whole tomatoes in juice

3 C beef broth

1 8-oz. can tomato sauce

3 15-oz. cans of small white beans, rinsed, drained

Chopped red onion

Chopped fresh cilantro

Plain low-fat yogurt or light sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add onions; saute until light brown and tender, about 10 minutes. Add oregano and cumin; stir 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high. Add turkey; stir until no longer pink, breaking up with back of spoon. Stir in chili powder, bay leaves, cocoa powder, salt, and cinnamon. Add tomatoes with juice, breaking up with back of spoon. Mix in broth and tomato sauce. Bring to boil. Reduce heat; simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add beans to chili and simmer until flavors blend, about 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Before continuing, bring to simmer over medium-low heat.)

Ladle chili into bowls. Pass red onion, cilantro, and yogurt separately.

My note: We really liked this chili. I was reading some online reviews of the recipe and to cut down on the soupiness some people suggested using 2 C of broth, and some even liked it with vegetable rather than beef broth. Others also used tomato paste instead of tomato sauce.

Butternut Squash Soup

I'm trying an experiment, to post something new every Wednesday (like the newspapers). I almost didn't make it this week, but here it is.

Butternut Squash Soup

2 T butter
1 onion, chopped fine
3 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2 inch chunks
5 C low-sodium chicken broth
2 sprigs of thyme
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 C heavy cream (milk might also work)
Salt and pepper

1. Melt the butter in large Dutch oven pot over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the squash, broth, thyme, and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook until the squash is tender, 20-25 minutes.
2. Remove the thyme sprigs and puree the soup in batches in a blender (or food processor) until smooth.
3. Return the pureed soup to the pot. Stir in the cream. Bring to a brief simmer, then remove from the heat. If the soup seems too thick, thin it out with additional broth or water. Season with salt and pepper to taste before serving. Sprinkle individual servings with more nutmeg if desired.

The soup can be prepared through step 2, cooled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat over low heat, adding additional water or broth to adjust the consistency, before proceeding with step 3.

My notes: This was a really pretty simple soup, easy to make and pretty tasty. Not quite what I'd call gourmet, but for a good butternut squash soup at home, this definitely hits the spot. It comes from one of my new favorite cookbooks for cooking just regular everyday, good food: The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. And peeling the squash with a vegetable peeler really does work.

Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

This week's post, no surprise, is a Thanksgiving-themed recipe, and comes from Tyler Florence. This is our contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year, and is a recipe we tried out last year. It's really tasty, easy to make, but doesn't make a whole lot, so consider at least doubling it.

Caramelized Onion and Cornbread Stuffing

2 T butter
2 onions, chopped
6 large cornmeal muffins, cubed
Handful fresh sage leaves, chopped
1 egg
1/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C chicken stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
-Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for about 10 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. Add sage and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Add the cornbread pieces, season well with salt and pepper, and give it a good toss until it's well combined. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, cream, and stock, and pour that over the cornbread. Stir the stuffing together and stuff the cavity of the turkey. You could also spoon it into a buttered baking dish and put it in the oven along with the turkey. Bake until hot and crusty on top, about 30 minutes.

My note: When we last made this, it only took 20-25 minutes, so check on it. And you can add more chicken stock if it seems too dry.

Brown Sugar Brownies

This brownie recipe is one that has taunted me for about a year now. I kept wondering, what would the difference be between brown sugar and regular old sugar. Finally, I decided it was just time to try the recipe instead of letting it take up space, wondering if it would be good or not. That's the trouble, there are so many great recipes out there waiting to be tried, and for some reason or other I often find myself stuck in the mode of making the same old things over and over. So here's to a renewed commitment to try new things several times a month.

Brown Sugar Brownies

1 C packed brown sugar
1/2 C (1 stick) butter, softened
2 eggs
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, melted
1/2 C flour
1 C coarsely chopped walnuts

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
-Grease an 8x8x2 pan.
-In large bowl beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at time. Beat in chocolate, then flour. Stir in nuts. Pour (scrape) into pan. Bake 25 minutes (I usually check to see if it's pulled away from the sides of the pan a bit and for the smell. Don't know why, but I can usually tell if something chocolate is done by the smell.) Cool in pan and cut into bars. Makes 24.

My note:

OK, so I followed the directions, but I think I've finally encountered my first recipe that needs to be adjusted for altitude. It came out of the oven with a nice size to it, but as it cooled it shrank and the brownies were about 1/2 inch tall. Maybe. So will I make these again? DEFINITELY! They taste amazing, more like a really good flourless chocolate cake than brownies. And the flavor is not too sweet, a nice dark chocolate flavor. I think they would taste great with chopped up hazelnuts, or maybe even almonds. But next time I'll try adjusting for altitude.

Oh, and my baking guru, Nick Malgieri, claims that if you want to double a recipe for an 8x8 pan, you can, just bake it in a 9x13 pan.

Corn Salsa

The credit for this recipe really goes to Kati: she made it and brought it to a family party, then she gave a bunch of us her ward's cookbook which has the recipe in it. Derk and I made this (well, Derk did because we were running out of time) for a family thing this past weekend and I've had a few requests for the recipe. And so here it is, a really great and amazingly easy corn salsa recipe.

1 can of corn, drained
1 can of black beans rinsed and drained
1 can of pinto beans rinsed and drained
4 small tomatoes, diced
1 bunch of green onions, chopped
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
2 avocados, diced
1 packet Good Seasons Italian Season Mix

Mix Italian Season Mix as directed on package. In large bowl combine first 7 ingredients and mix together. Pour Italian Seasoning into the bowl and mix. Let sit for at least an hour then strain out the extra dressing so it's not so soupy. Serve with chips.

NOTES: Straining out the extra dressing isn't essential, but I'd recommend it. It does get really soupy. The other note is that this salsa is definitely best if eaten the day it's made. We had some left over, ate it the next day and it had lost a lot of what made it good--it mellowed out a little too much.

Grilled Fresh Corn

Grilled Fresh Corn in Spicy Lime Dressing, from Cuisine At Home, June 2008 issue.

Tonight Derk and I made this tasty little side dish to go with some honey-lime chicken we made. It comes from one of my very favorite food magazines called Cuisine At Home, and this was a real winner! It would be a nice side dish to any kind of Mexican or Southwestern kind of food. We decided that you could probably cook the corn on the stove if you don't have a grill, and we're not real big on super spicy flavor, so we omitted the jalapeno. We also used Cholula for the hot sauce/Tabasco, and that gave it just the right amount of kick. The flavors were really great, sweet corn with a nice spicy, kicky taste, with a hint of cilantro. We really liked it.

4 ears fresh sweet corn, shucked
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 T fresh lime juice
1 T hot sauce or Tabasco (or Cholula)
1/4 C chopped fresh cilantro
2 tsp. jalapeno, seeded, minced (we omitted this)
1/2 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste
Crumbled queso fresco (a Mexican cheese, could probably go with Pepper Jack or Monterrey Jack, but we also omitted this step too)

Preheat grill to medium.

Coat corn with oil and grill until lightly charred, turning frequently, 10-15 minutes.

Whisk lime juice, hot sauce, cilantro, jalapeno, sugar, salt, and pepper together in a bowl while corn grills. Allow corn to cool slightly, then slice kernels off cob and toss in dressing to coat. Garnish with cheese.

Makes 2 cups.

Chocolate Waffle Stompers

In celebration of starting to feel closer to being done with school, I am taking some time to get back into recipe posts. This recipe is one that I promised to give Adair, but forgot about, and am now just getting back to. Basically it's really great chocolate waffles, that are really almost like eating brownies in waffle form. And yes, the batter is pretty thick. I got this recipe from a class at Ace Hardware, and someone said that they've made them with some mint or peppermint flavor in the frosting and that it was very good that way, too. Or have them with peppermint ice cream. They're not too hard to make, either. The teacher of the class used a Belgian waffle maker, but regular works, too, just make sure you spray or butter the waffle maker so they don't stick. Another note on the batter, because it is thick, you have to drop some batter in each square of the waffle iron and kind of spread it a bit. I'm labeling this as a dessert, though I suppose if you wanted it could be a really intense breakfast. And so without further ado:

Chocolate Waffle Stompers

3 squares unsweetened chocolate (3 oz.)
1 Cup butter
4 eggs
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 Cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 Cup nuts (such as pecans), optional

Melt chocolate and butter together. In a bowl beat eggs and sugar. Add flour, salt, vanilla, and nuts if using. Blend well. Pour chocolate mixture into egg mixture and blend together. Drop batter in each waffle square heated to medium (not entirely sure what that means, I don't really pay attention to that part of the directions, I say 'til the waffle iron is ready) and bake/cook 1-2 minutes. Make one to test it first, see how it works with your waffle iron. Frost while warm.

Frosting

1 square (1 oz) unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp butter
1/3 Cup milk
1/2 Cup sugar
1 1/2 to 2 Cups powdered sugar (to desired consistency)

Melt first 4 ingredients together. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Then drizzle or spread over waffles.

Chicken Saltimbocca (no, not THAT Saltimbocca)

Hi, Derk here--posting the Chicken Saltimbocca recipe Christine found. We're all sad that the "real" Saltimbocca closed, and are busy trying to find the recipe for their amazing chocolate pudding. In the meantime, here's some good chicken to make and eat.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

4-8 thin, boneless chicken breast cutlets (we only made four, but used two boneless chicken breasts and cut them in half (I'd say "lengthwise," but that's too imprecise--take your chef's or santoku knife and cut the breast in half with your knife parallel to the cutting board. You're trying to make the breast thinner, not skinnier.)

1 Tbsp minced fresh sage leaves, plus one large fresh sage leaf per cutlet

4-8 thin slices prosciutto (again, as many slices as you have cutlets)

4 Tbsps olive oil

1/4 cup dry vermouth or white wine (we use "Ariel," a wine that's been de-alcohol-ed--we buy it at Emigration Market)

2 tsps lemon juice

4 Tbsps unsalted butter, cut into 4 pieces and chilled

1 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves (we used dry parsley flakes and it seemed okay)

Table salt

Fresh ground pepper

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Combine flour and 1 tsp pepper in shallow dish or paper plate.

2. After cutting breasts into cutlets, pat cutlets dry with a paper towel. Dredge chicken in flour. Lay cutlets flat and sprinkle evenly with minced sage. Place one slice prosciutto on top of each cutlet, pressing lightly to adhere. Set aside.

3. Heat 2 Tbsps of olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high heat. If using whole sage leaves, add these to the oil and cook until the leaves begin to change color and are fragrant, about 15-20 seconds. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sage to a paper towel-covered plate, set aside. Add cutlets to pan (as many as will fit--four at a time is usually okay), prosciutto side down, and cook until light golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side until light golden brown, about 2 minutes more. Transfer to wire rack on a baking sheet (or a roasting pan, as we did), and keep warm in oven. If you have more cutlets, add the rest of the oil and repeat this step with the remaining cutlets. Place remaining cutlets in oven and prepare sauce.

4. Deglaze pan with vermouth or wine, scraping up any browned bits, and simmer until reduced to about 1/3 cup, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in lemon juice. Reduce heat to low. Whisk in butter one piece at a time. Remove from heat, stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper. At this point, I wasn't sure if the chicken was completely done, so I returned it to the pan, turned the heat back to medium, and let it cook for 5 more minutes. Plate chicken, place one cooked sage leaf on top of each cutlet, and pour a little of the sauce over the cutlet, and serve.