a tribute to parson's table blue hubbard squash soup

1 blue hubbard squash
32 oz package of chicken broth
half a container of heavy cream
nutmeg for garnish

Cut the squash into pieces and roast at 375 degrees for 90 minutes. Bring chicken broth to a near boil and add the roasted squash. Use a hand blender to blend the squash and broth in the pot. Once it's almost fully blended, add the heavy cream and blend until combined.

Sprinkle with nutmeg.

sangria, just in case...

I basically stopped drinking about a year ago now. It made me feel like crap more than it made me feel good, so I just stopped and am far healthier for it. But I do recall how much I enjoyed the Sangria at Dali back in the day, so I figured I should put this recipe in here just in case. Mostly because I know if I ever do go looking for it again, I'll never be able to find it if I don't drop it in here.

Dali's Sangria
1 gallon red wine
1/2 gallon orange juice
2 cups brandy
2 cups Triple Sec
1 cup sugar
ice and chopped fruit

Mix everything together. Drink.

Recipe courtesy of Tomato Nation

the mustard-iest sandwich in the world

This sandwich was inspired by a mustard gouda that wasn't quite as mustard-y as we would have liked, so we figured out a way to make it taste like we were expecting it to.

sandwich bread fried in bacon fat
corned beef
mustard gouda
horseradish mustard
sauerkraut
tomatoes (optional)

Be sure to melt the cheese on the warmed bread.

ricotta dessert-fest

We haven't tried any of these but we love all of the ingredients so we can't see how they won't be good. They're definitely on the list to be done soon, but since we were driving away from the grocery store when we came up with the recipes, we don't have all the ingredients at hand just yet.

Chocolate Pallina

ricotta
honey
banana (optional)
70% (Guanaja) Valrhona chocolate feves

In a bowl, mix the ricotta with honey and (optionally) mashed banana until thoroughly combined. Wet hands. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it in your hands like a meatball. Freeze the ricotta balls at least an hour. Melt the chocolate slowly over low heat. Do not bring to a boil. Line a cookie sheet with wax paper. Using a spoon, quickly dip each ball into the chocolate and place on wax paper. (Alternately, spread a thin coating of chocolate on the wax paper, place all of the ricotta balls on the chocolate layer and then drizzle chocolate over the balls to coat.) Refrigerate or freeze until the chocolate hardens.


Bocca Sesso con Pesche

ricotta
honey
fresh peaches
butter
70% (Guanaja) Valrhona chocolate feves

Melt butter in a frying pan. Heat sliced peaches in the butter until slightly softened and warmed through. Melt the chocolate slowly over low heat. Do not bring to a boil. Divide peaches into dessert bowls. Add a scoop of ricotta. Drizzle with honey. Drizzle with melted chocolate. Serve. Die of the deliciousness.

spicy chicken wing sauces for saucy

Chicken wings can do no wrong - especially when they come from the Cherry Tree. We were inspired to make our own and came pretty durn close. Here's what we came up with:

Honey Hotness:

1 cup Frank's Red Hot
3/4 cup of wildflower honey

Cherry Tree:

3/4 cup Frank's Red Hot
3/4 cup wildflower honey
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mayo

For each, combine all ingredients. Cook wings. Coat wings. Eat.

this isn't your momma's home-cooking

Over the course of a week I had three amazing home-cooked meals, all with new ingredients or new cooking methods. I'm very lucky to have friends who love to cook and are really good at it. I just hope I can recreate these in the future.

Lamb Chorizo with Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Ingredients:
2 links of lamb chorizo
1 store-bought package of sweet potato gnocchi
1 sweet potato
2 roasted tomatoes
1 1/2 cups of frozen okra
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 cup chicken broth

To roast the tomatoes: turn oven to the lowest setting, cut smallish tomatoes in half, place in baking dish and sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Place in oven for at least 3 hours. The longer they roast the more intense the flavor will become.

Heat the sweet potato in the microwave to soften, about 5 minutes. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1 inch pieces. Place these on a cookie sheet and broil first for 6 minutes, then flip over and broil for another 5 minutes.

Begin boiling water for gnocchi. When water boils, add gnocchi and cook for 5 minutes or until they float.

Brown the chorizo in a large frying pan. Add the garlic and fry for about a minute before adding the frozen okra, tomatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Add the  gnocchi and sweet potatoes. Simmer until the sauce thickens. Ladle into a bowl and top with parmesan cheese if desired.


White Fish with Red Chilis and Lime

Ingredients:
1/2 pound white fish
cornstarch to coat
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 limes
zest of 1 lime
2 red chilis
peanut oil


Pork with Roasted Vegetables and Balsamic Glaze

Ingredients:
2 pork chops
roasted vegetables: peppers, red onions, eggplant, portobellas
grape tomatoes
1/2 cup balsamic fig vinegar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar (or 1 cup if you don't also have balsamic fig)
1/4 cup brown sugar
ricotta


Sweet Hot Apricot Chicken (SHAC)

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 pounds of chicken thighs
1 10 oz bottle of apricot fruit spread
6 teaspoons of Frank's Red Hot
2 teaspoons wildflower honey
salt and pepper
1/2 tablespoon butter
2 teaspoons bacon fat

Heat bacon fat in frying pan. Salt and pepper both sides of chicken. Brown both sides of chicken in the bacon fat. Meanwhile, combine apricot fruit spread, Frank's Red Hot and honey. When chicken is brown, pour apricot sauce over chicken in pan and simmer until chicken is cooked through and slightly orange outside. Raise heat on stovetop and continue boiling sauce until it reduces. After 10 minutes of reducing add butter and stir in. Cook for another 3 minutes. Pour sauce over chicken and devour.

pizza - roasted eggplant style

After trying it out on a vacation in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, we just had to try to create our own version of roasted eggplant pizza. This simple dish turns out perfectly, especially if you use high quality ingredients.

2 small eggplants, peeled
1 cup of basil - chiffonade
1/2 cup of mozzarella, shredded
1 cup of sun-dried tomato basil pasta sauce

Slice the eggplants in rounds about a quarter inch thick. Lay all the slices on a greased pan and sprinkle with olive oil. Broil for 6 minutes, flip the slices over, sprinkle with a bit more olive oil and broil for another 5 minutes until slightly golden brown on both sides. Remove from broiler, coat the top of each slice with tomato sauce, sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and then cook in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Broil for 3 minutes or until golden brown. (Use this last ten minutes to cook a steak!) Remove pan from the oven and sprinkle with basil chiffonade.

Enjoy!!

one fish, two fish...nope, just one fish

There are few things I love more than being able to make dinner with nothing more than what's already in my fridge. And when it only takes 20 minutes then it's like kitchen magic. The following was so simple I kind of can't even believe how good it was. But sometimes simple is best, right?

Haddock with Tomatoes and Garlic over Polenta

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon oil
2 pieces of white fish
2 cups of tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup polenta
1 cup water
salt, pepper and cajun seasoning and parmesan cheese to taste

Heat butter and oil in a non-stick pan. Lightly sprinkle fish with salt, pepper and cajun seasoning. Pan fry fish until done, remove to plate. Add tomatoes and garlic to the pan the fish was fried in, scraping up any browned bits. Cook until the tomatoes are just heated through.

Boil water. Add polenta and stir until cooked.

To plate: Add polenta to the plate the fish has been resting on. Pour sauce over both polenta and fish. Sprinkle polenta with parmesan cheese.

summertime soup

I haven't tried this myself yet, but a friend made it and it was spectacular! I've had a couple of watermelon gazpachos in my life but this was by far the best. Knowing the home it was made in I have a feeling that high quality olive oil is key. I hope that when I do make this I can do it half as well as my friend did.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence at FoodNetwork.com

Serves: 4 servings

• 1 large tomato, pureed
• 1/2 serrano chile
• 2 cups cubed fresh watermelon
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons minced red onion
• 1/2 cucumber, seeded and minced
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill, plus more for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a blender, puree the tomatoes, chile, and 1/2 of the watermelon. Pour in the red wine vinegar and olive oil and pulse. Add the onion, cucumber and dill and season with salt and pepper. Puree until smooth. Pour into chilled bowls and sprinkle with dill, feta, and remaining watermelon. Serve.

that's a not so spicy meatball

Though I don't spend a lot of time focusing on it here, mostly because I don't bake a ton, I eat gluten-free. Most of the recipes here are whole-food based - no mixes, packets or pre-made ingredients. So it's easy to make foods that are gluten-free that everyone, even all the gluten eaters out there, can enjoy. Every once in a while though, I crave something that I have to figure out how to make gluten-free for myself because no one out there is selling it (yet - this list grows shorter every day - thankfully!). My latest craving has been for meatballs.

Meatballs and meatloaf have always been tricky because you have to get the starch in it right. I've tried pre-made gluten-free breadcrumbs: gross. Rice: works well, but is still rice-y tasting. Tonight I tried my favorite pre-made gf bread (Whole Foods Sandwich Bread). The no-pre-made rule goes out the window for baked goods - all of the breads I've tried to make have been as dense as bricks. Baking requires an exactitude I just can't bring to my cooking. I defrosted a slice of the bread in the microwave, tossed in oregano, basil and parsley as I crumbed it up in the food processor and woo! instant Italian breadcrumbs. If I'd gotten started earlier I might have toasted them up in the oven before I used them in the mix, but for a first try they worked extremely well.

Here's my recipe for gluten-free meatballs:

1 pound mix of ground pork, beef and veal
1 piece of white sandwich bread
1/2 - 1 tbsp dried oregano
1/2 - 1 tbsp dried basil
1/2 tbsp dried parsley
1 egg (I used 1 egg equivalent of egg whites since that's what I had on hand)
2 tbsp ketchup
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Make breadcrumbs as described above and combine with all of the other ingredients. Shape into balls slightly smaller than golf balls - I ended up with 22 meatballs. Cook on cookie sheet in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until no longer pink inside. Cooking time will vary depending on the size of the meatballs.

I cooked up some gf spaghetti and a jar of fire-roasted tomato pasta sauce and plopped the meatballs right on top. I'm still in search of the perfect spaghetti - this was a bit too mushy - so next time I will probably use my old standby gf linguine. But the meatballs - they were pretty great! I will keep working on them, but these were pretty close to right. The title of this post also made me realize that next time I might add a dash of red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit.

veggie delights

The water is out, or rather, shouldn't be used, so I've been making meals as easily as possible using as little water as possible. My original plan, before the water crisis, was to make my Monday staple - wilted spinach. A little garlic, a little oil and a dash of salt and in just a couple of minutes you've got the most delicious and simplistic spinach dish. But washing the spinach was going to be more difficult than it's worth, so I needed an alternative.

I took two roasted vegetable recipes and combined them into my own: Roasted Broccoli and Tomatoes.

1 head of broccoli
1 pint of grape tomatoes
1/2 onion
oil
salt
pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Cut up broccoli into small pieces. Slice onions. Combine on sheet pan and coat in oil. Toss with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes. Remove from oven. Halve the tomatoes and toss with the boccoli and onions. Add more oil and put back in the oven for 10-15 more minutes.

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I haven't tried this yet, but it looks like an interesting variation on the brown sugar carrots I ate growing up and are one of the few ways I will actually eat carrots.

Spiced Carrots
2 lb medium carrots (about 12)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste

Quarter carrots lengthwise, then cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté carrots, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add brown sugar, stirring until sugar is melted. Stir in water, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon, and cayenne and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze, 8 to 10 minutes.

Found at: epicurious.com