Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Over Polenta Cakes with Goat Cheese

This recipe was inspired by the amazing F&W recipe found here: Crisp Polenta with Cherry Tomatoes

My version isn't quite as "fancy," and definitely more of a quick, what do I have for dinner (?) version.

I had a tube (for lack of a better term) of pre-cooked polenta in my pantry, as well as goat cheese in the fridge, olive oil, salt, and some herbs. The tomatoes arrived in our produce box on the exact day that our friends had brought us a colander full.

Ingredients:

• "Tube" of pre-cooked polenta, usually found in the pasta section of a grocery store
• basket/2 cups of cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup crumbled goat cheese
• fresh thyme sprigs
• olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Toss tomatoes with approximately 2 TB of olive oil, a bit of salt and pepper, and fresh thyme. If you do not have fresh thyme, you may use dried thyme, though the original recipe calls for you to remove the thyme after baking. Spread tomatoes on parchment lined baking sheet.
3. Bake tomatoes for 20 minutes or so, until some start to burst.
4. Meanwhile, slice polenta into 1/2 inch-3/4 inch slices. 
5. In a small frying pan, heat 1 TB olive oil over medium/high heat. Heat polenta slices for approximately ten minutes total. Add olive oil if needed, but not more than 3 TB total.
6. Assemble: Place one polenta disc on a plate. Top with approximately 1 TB of goat cheese and a couple spoonfuls of the tomatoes. 

Enjoy!

Blood Orange Grilled Shrimp

As you may notice based on this post and my last post, I have recently used some infused olive oils in my cooking. I have received both lemon olive oil and blood orange olive oil as gifts, and LOVE cooking with them. This shrimp dish was quick and full of flavor, thanks to both the olive oil and fresh grilled citrus.

Ingredients:

• fresh peeled, deveined shrimp (I used 20 to serve 5 people)
• approximately 1/2 cup blood orange olive oil
• handful of fresh parsley
• 2 blood oranges
• salt and pepper to taste
• bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 30 min.

Directions:

1.  Thread four shrimp onto each bamboo skewer.
2.  Season shrimp with salt and pepper, then coat with blood orange olive oil. Let shrimp marinate for 15 minutes.
3.  Slice blood oranges in half. Chop parsley.
4. Heat BBQ/grill to medium heat. Place blood oranges on the grill to get a good char.
5. After grilling the oranges for 3-4 minutes, add shrimp skewers. Cook 2-3 minutes total, turning once, until shrimp are done (pinkish on the outside, opaque on the inside).
6. Remove shrimp and blood oranges from grill. Squeeze the juice from the charred blood oranges over the shrimp and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Grilled Zucchini Salad

 

Ingredients:

• 4-6 medium zucchini
• 1/4 cup feta cheese
• 2 TB fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, lightly toasted (I do this in a small pan, you could also bake them)
• lemon infused olive oil, or regular olive oil and juice from 1/2 lemon
• white balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Slice zucchini in 1/4 inch slices. Toss with 1-2 TB olive oil (lemon if you have it), salt and pepper.
2. Saute zucchini over medium heat until just tender, approximately 5 minutes.
3. Allow zucchini to cool to room temperature. Toss with approximately 2 TB of white balsamic, and another 1 TB of the lemon olive oil (or regular olive oil, with the juice of 1 lemon).
4. Add pine nuts and feta cheese, toss, and add salt and pepper to taste (should not need much if seasoned before cooking). Finish with fresh mint.

Enjoy!

Penne with Swiss Chard, Leeks, and a Walnut Cream Sauce

We have signed up for Plow to Porch which provides amazing local produce every week, along with recipes to accompany them. A (somewhat) recent box contained rainbow chard and leeks, both of which I had never tried. I used their recipe for this pasta, and LOVED IT! I have since made it a couple of times (whenever the ingredients are supplied) and it is definitely a crowd-pleaser. Both my foodie baby and my picky girl ate it! Victory!!







Ingredients:
2 TB unsalted buter
1/2 lb penne pasta
1 lb chard, leaves and stems separated and both thinly sliced
1 cup leeks, thinly sliced, white and pale green parts
3 large garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
1/3 c chicken broth (or vegetable broth if you prefer)
2/3 c heavy cream
1 TB walnut oil or similar nut oil (I did not have any of this, but I'm sure it would be awesome)
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 lb penne pasta, cooked and drained (according to package directions)
3 TB toasted walnut pieces
2 TB fresh tarragon or parsley or a combination of both (didn't have this either)
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (optional--highly suggested!)

Directions:
1. Melt butter over medium-low heat in a skillet that has a lid.
2. Add leek, chard stems, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cut a piece of waxed paper to fit your skillet and place it over the vegetables. Cover the skillet with the lid and cook for five minutes.
4. Remove the cover and waxed paper, add the chard leaves, garlic, red pepper flakes, and broth, and simmer the mixture stirring occasionally for five minutes (uncovered).
5. Increase the heat to high and reduce the liquid until it is almost evaporated. Add the cream and walnut oil and simmer over medium heat, stirring, until thickened. Season again with salt and pepper.
6. Toss the pasta into the sauce and throw in the walnuts. Top with parmesan and fresh herbs.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Fritters with Israeli Couscous

The inspiration for this dish came from Food & Wine's most recent issue on travel. There was a section about Istanbul, Turkey, with some awesome food pictured. I saw these zucchini fritters and checked out the recipe. They suggested serving the fritters with champagne, and since I had a beautiful bottle of Veuve, I went for it. I found a great recipe on epicurious for Israeli Couscous with fresh parsley, lemon, and pine nuts. Because I only needed enough for two, I checked the "review's section and used another person's suggested proportions. Yum!

Zucchini Fritters over Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

Zucchini Fritters

Ingredients:
4 medium zucchini, coarsely shredded
Kosher salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped dill
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped mint
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
Freshly ground pepper

Vegetable Oil, for frying

Directions:
1. Pile the shredded zucchini in a colander and sprinkle with 1 TB salt. Toss the zucchini well and let stand for 5 minutes.
2. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible and transfer the zucchini to a large bowl. Stir in  the eggs, flour, dill, parsley, mint, and the feta. Stir in 1/2 tsp of pepper and refrigerate the fritter batter for about 10 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil on medium/high heat. Set a paper towel-covered baking sheet or plate near the stove.
4. Working in batches, drop rounded tablespoons of the fritter batter into the hot oil and fry, turning the fritters a few times, until browned and crisp.
5. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fritters to the paper towels and repeat with remaining fritter batter.
6. Discard the paper towels and reheat the fritters in the oven for about 3 minutes (I did this as the last batch was frying so that they were all hot and ready to go. Serve hot.
Serving suggestion that we did not follow: serve with a cucumber-yogurt sauce.

Toasted Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley

Ingredients:
Here are the proportions for a bigger meal:

• 5 tablespoons butter, divided
• 2/3 cup pine nuts (about 3 1/2 ounces)
• 2/3 cup finely chopped shallots
• 3 cups (16 ounces) Israeli toasted couscous
• 1 large cinnamon stick
• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
• 3 3/4 cups canned low-salt chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup minced fresh Italian parsley

Here are the proportions I used, as suggested in the reviews section (for 2-3 people)

3/4 cup couscous 

3 TB butter

1/4 cup chopped onions or shallots

1/4 cup pine nuts

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock plus 1/2 cup water 

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon ( I used a dash)

1 bay leaf

zest from one lemon

1/4 cup parsley 

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Melt 1 TB butter in sauce pan over medium low heat ( do not let it get too hot at this point!)--saute pine nuts for about 5 minutes, until golden. Remove pine nuts from pan and set aside for later. 

2. In the same pan, melt the remaining butter and saute the onions on medium heat for about 10 minutes.

3. Add couscous, cinnamon, and bay leaf. Saute for 5 minutes

4. Add stock and water, along with salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil.

5. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed and couscous is cooked completely.

6. Stir in parsley, lemon zest, and pine nuts. Enjoy!

Chicken Marsala

In high school I often visited the restaurant, La Strada, in Richmond. I almost always ordered their "Pollo Marsala." Eventually I thought I should learn to make it. These days I don't measure any of the ingredients, so these amounts are just approximate. You may add or subtract seasonings as you like.

Chicken Marsala

Ingredients:

3-4 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1½ c. flour

1 TB salt

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp dried oregano

1 c. sliced mushrooms

3 c. Marsala wine

olive oil

butter

Directions:

1. Pound the chicken breasts between two pieces of plastic wrap. Use a cooking mallet or the bottom of a frying pan.

2. Heat 2 TB olive oil and 2 TB butter together in a large frying pan over medium heat.

3. Meanwhile, mix the dry ingredients together. Coat each piece of chicken in the mixture. Put the chicken into the pan.

4. Cook the chicken for approximately 5 minutes on each side. Make sure that it cooks all the way through.

5. When the chicken is cooked, remove it from the pan and place it in the oven to stay warm.

6. Add the mushrooms to the pan that the chicken was in. Saute until browned.

7. Add the Marsala wine and increase the heat to high.

8. Allow the wine to boil, stirring the pan to scrape any chicken drippings or seasonings.

9. After 10 minutes reduce the heat and allow the sauce to thicken.

10. When the sauce has reached the desired consistency, add the chicken and coat in the sauce.

11. Serve by pouring a bit of sauce and mushrooms over the coated chicken.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Recipe: Tex-Mex Style Chicken and Bean Burritos

Today my son, Jackson, is 5 weeks and 1 day old. That means that I do not have much hands-on time to make food. I have been scouring the internet for slow-cooker meals that appeal to my tastes, and this one is a winner!

This recipe is from Martha, and according to the recipe it is served in a bowl, like a chili or stew. We chose to use it in a burrito--SO good! My husband, a burrito addict, said it may have been the best burrito he's ever had. I read many of the reviews on her website, some people complained that theirs burned, others that the beans didn't cook. It seems to me that these issues are a result of their slow cookers. I made it according to the recipe in my (relatively new) slow cooker and it worked just fine.

I made a few changes, but other than that I followed all of her directions!

Ingredients:
1 cup dried pinto beans or black beans, rinsed
1 jar (1 1/2 cups) mild or medium salsa
2 TB chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
1 1/4 cups chicken broth
salt and pepper
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped

For serving: sour cream, shredded cheese, avocado, cilantro, tortillas, chips, basically, whatever sounds best to you! The result is very flavorful and saucy, so you will likely not need any extra salsas or hot sauces.

Directions:
1. In your slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and chicken broth.
2. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Arrange it on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.
3. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. Do not open lid or stir.
4. Shred the chicken--the original recipe says to remove it, shred it, and return it to the mixture. I was able to run a fork through the slow cooker and the chicken fell apart. Yum!

We heated large flour tortillas (IndianLife brand--SO good!) and added cheese and sour cream along with the chicken and beans. Enjoy!