Quick Summer Pasta

I threw this together with some pantry staples. Nothing like getting home after six and getting dinner on the table before seven! Everyone seemed to enjoy it. Although, when I said, "Do you know what would make this better?" at the table, Nick's first answer was "Bacon!" Next time, try sauteing a couple strips of bacon before the garlic and corn, use the bacon fat to cook the rest, and then crumble the bacon on top of the finished dish. 

1 lb spaghetti

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 ears corn

1 can Muir Glen fire-roasted diced tomatoes

1 tsp hot red pepper flakes

1 10-oz pkg Whole Foods frozen bay scallops, thawed

1 cup half and half

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

chopped parsley

Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. While that heats up, chop the corn off of the cobs. Rinse the scallops off and dry on a paper towel.

Add a goodly amount of salt to the boiling water and throw the pasta in it, and set a timer for 10 minutes. In a large saute pan, heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the garlic and the corn over high heat for a few minutes until the garlic becomes fragrant and the corn is beginning to cook. Salt and pepper to taste. Add the tomatoes to the skillet, along with the hot red pepper flakes and heat through. Add the half and half and bring the whole mess up to a simmer. When the timer is down to about 3 minutes, add the scallops to the skillet with the simmering tomato-cream sauce. Let them poach for 3 minutes. Check the pasta for doneness, and then add it to the skillet with the sauce. Toss with the Parmesan cheese. Season with more salt and pepper if needed. Divide among serving bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

Mmmm, curry

Good night for a barbecue, but not a lot of time to prepare. How about some chicken satay with a little store-bought naan?

 

I added in a lovely curried tomato soup with coconut milk for a double whammy of curriliciousness. Feeling all warm and fuzzy inside now, with lots of leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Bean soup with buttermilk biscuits

I made this soup last night with a leftover ham bone, a few strips of bacon, a pound of beans, some onions, celery, and a few bay leaves. Cooked it long enough to soften the beans, and then stored in the fridge overnight. I pulled it out of the fridge when I got home from work, skimmed the fat off of the top, picked the meat off of the ham bone, added some chopped carrots, and brought it to a simmer for half an hour. Biscuits per Cooks Illustrated recipe, mixed in the food processor and baked off just before dinner.

Persian meatballs with springtime salad

Trying to cook healthy (again), so I had dear husband buy some ground turkey this week at Costco, not really knowing what I would do with it. Looked around on the web last night, and found this recipe for "Persian turkey meatballs," which seemed worth a try. Instead of grilling them (too windy), I formed them into balls and sautéed them in a little oil.



I made a cucumber-mint raita to serve with the meatballs and some white rice. (Kind of wanted to make tadik, but I didn't think I could pull it off with everything else going on tonight.) The meatballs were good, not great, and definitely needed more spice.

But the salad! Thrown together somewhat haphazardly, it was a lovely compliment to the meatballs and a sweet reminder of springtime. And, it was easy, too.




Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese and Pomegranate Vinaigrette

Salad:
3 cups salad greens (half baby spinach and half baby greens works well here)
8-10 strawberries, washed and sliced
1/4 medium purple onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces crumbled goat cheese

Dressing:
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Mix salad ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Dress salad just before eating. If you have them, a handful of sliced almonds would have been great on this salad.

Baked Eggs

Here is a delicious, inexpensive, quick to prepare meal that I adapted from Bon Appetit. Serve with a crusty loaf of French bread for dipping.





Baked Eggs with Tomato-Chickpea Sauce and Feta


1 onion, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon borracho bean seasoning
1 26-ounce box Pomi tomatoes
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup feta cheese, cut into small cubes
six eggs
parsley
cilantro

In a large saucepan, sweat the onion and the jalapeno in the oil until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Add the paprik and the borracho bean seasoning and cook for 1 minute until the spices become fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and the chickpeas and cook over medium-low heat until the sauce thickens slightly. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees.  Set three oven-proof dishes on a large cookie sheet. After the sauce has cooked down a bit, turn off the heat and stir the feta cheese into the sauce. Divide the sauce between the oven-proof dishes. Crack two eggs into each dish. Cook in the oven until the whites of the eggs are just set, but the yolks are still runny. You may want to turn the broiler off for a few minutes to finish the cooking. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle the top with chopped cilantro and parsley. Serve with warm bread for dipping.

Thanksgiving 2011

 

Arugula salad with pears, goat cheese, and pomegranate molasses dressing
Dry-brined, herb-buttered, grilled turkey
Stuffing
Green beans with hoisin and shoyu
Mashed potatoes
Apple pie
Blueberry pie
Sweet potato pie

Turkey Meatball Sandwiches

I pulled some ground turkey from the freezer this morning and imagined what to do with it during the work day. My family usually complains about dinners made with ground turkey, so I sought to surprise them with a hearty, comforting meal. Inspired by Smitten Kitchen's recipe for meatball subs, I picked up some Gruyere cheese and hoagie rolls at Trader Joe's on the way home and got to work. My guys were charmed, and I was once again a hero at the dinner table.

Turkey Meatball Sandwiches

1 lb. ground turkey

1/4 cup parsley, minced

1 large shallot, minced

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes

1/2 cup Gruyere cheese, grated

salt and pepper to taste

1 jar your favorite spaghetti sauce

1 large onion, sliced

1 cup baby bell peppers, halved

Hoagie rolls

More cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, mix the turkey, parsley, shallot, egg, milk, hot red pepper flakes, milk, bread crumbs and cheese. Form into 1.5-inch meatballs; place on a piece of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet. On another cookie sheet, toss the sliced onions and peppers with a generous amount of olive oil; salt and pepper. Roast the meatballs and the peppers in the oven until the meatballs are cooked and the peppers and onions begin to caramelize. Meanwhile, heat the spaghetti sauce in a large saucepan. Remove the meatballs from the cookie sheet and simmer in the sauce for 10 minutes or until the flavors meld. While the meatballs heat up in the sauce, open up the hoagie rolls and pull some of the excess bread out of the middle of the rolls. Place three meatballs on each roll, nap with some of the sauce, and top with the roasted peppers and onions. Garnish with a bit more cheese. Serve with salad.