Roasted potatoes and sweet potatoes with bacon

I feel like it's cheating to even post this as a "recipe" because it's so damn simple. But I had to see it in an issue of Everyday Food before I knew about it, so I figure I would pay it forward.




Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes with Bacon
Adapted from Everyday Food, October 2011.

Ingredients:

• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 good size potatoes (yukon or red), scrubbed and cut in to 1"ish cubes
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut in to 1"ish cubes.
• handful of fresh thyme
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss everything together on a rimmed baking sheet. 
2. Roast for about 30 minutes, toss around half way through.

Spaghetti squash with garlic and goat cheese

Pardon me if I just ease myself back in to this whole cooking business for fall. 



Spaghetti Squash with Garlic and Goat Cheese
Serves four as a side

Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• 1 tbs. butter
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 4 oz of goat cheese, plus a bit more for sprinkling
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375. Halve squash and place, cut side down, on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake squash until soft, above 45 minutes. (My preferred method is to do this the night before while watching tv and painting my toenails.) Set aside until cool enough to handle. 
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes until fragrant. 
3. Scoop the flesh out of the squash with a spoon and mix in with garlic, kind of separating the strands a bit as you go. Crumble goat cheese and toss with squash until coated. Season with salt and pepper and add a bit more crumbled cheese before serving.

I know what we ate last summer

I sure hope no one out there mistakes this for a food blog anymore. I have been completely slack in the cooking and recipe-noting department this summer. So, here is another round of What We've Been Eating:

Roasted Okra with Parmesan. Make your Eww Faces all you want, I love okra:



Chris's birthday eggs benedict (with tomato). Key West left me with an unshakeable "bennie" addiction:



Grilled eggplant and mozzarella stacks with a quick tomato, parmesan and basil sauce:



Grilled buffalo chicken with blue cheese potato salad:



And this? Just the scary charred remnants of our first attempt at cedar plank salmon on the grill. The fish itself was delicious (and will be revisited, hopefully blogged about in more depth), but the board did not make out as well:



What have you been eating this summer? Any good ideas for what to make this fall? As a much as I hate to see summer fade, I am looking forward to a kitchen that doesn't turn in to a fiery inferno when I innocently try to saute onions.

Herbed potato and pea salad

Why didn't anyone ever tell me how tedious it is to shell fresh peas? The food world "oohs" and "ahhhs" over these tiny green pearls but no one mentions how annoying it is to spend 20 minutes shelling a handful of peas. I'll probably lose my foodie cred (if I ever had any), but I'll admit it - next time I'm using frozen. Fresh peas are tasty but too much work. And you're looking at someone who actually enjoys picking crabs. Regardless, this is another great summer side. Just a tiny bit of mayo, which you could probably skip if you are anti-mayo. I actually used vegan mayonnaise (the Peanut has an egg allergy). All the glory is in the fresh herbs anyway, in my opinion.



Herbed potato and pea salad
Inspired by White on Rice Couple & Melissa Clark
Serves 4-6 as a side

Ingredients:

• 6 medium yukon gold potatoes
• 3/4 fresh (or frozen! Try frozen!) peas, shelled
• 2 tbs of a light vinegar (I used rice wine)
• 2 tbs finely minced vidalia onion
• 3 tbs whole grain mustard
• 2 tbs mayonnaise
• 2 tbs chopped fresh chives
• 2 tbs fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tbs chopped fresh basil
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Bring the potatoes to a boil in salted water. When the potatoes are nearly cooked through (10ish minutes), throw in the peas. Cook for a just a minute or two more, drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Douse the potatoes (the potatoes end up mostly on top when you drain) with the vinegar. Transfer to a bowl and mix in onion. Allow to cool for a few minutes.
3. Mix mayo and mustard in small bowl then combine with vegetables. Add fresh herbs, mix and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Grilled zucchini

Grilled veggies are a summer staple in our house. I don't think I could survive the season without our much-used grill basket. This is a typical side, often switched up with yellow squash, eggplant or whatever is on hand.



Just zucchini, onions, red pepper and artichoke hearts tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, dried Italian herbs and fresh basil. Put the grill basket on a piping hot grill and stir frequently, until the veggies are cooked through and soft with some nicely blackened edges. Top with parmesan cheese, if you like.

(Jeez, as soon as it gets warmer everything gets a little more casual -- including my recipe posting style. Lazy days of summer indeed.)

Quick & Dirty: Five Spice Salmon and Roasted Cauliflower

Some simple Asian flavors for a weeknight. The hot and spicy cauliflower is a nice balance to the rich salmon and they all roast up for a quick and easy meal. The cauliflower is based on this Chow recipe. And boy, do I love Chow. Have you visited yet? So much inspiration. I'm proud to say that I was probably one of their only print subscribers. For all two issues. Stupid dying media grumble grumble.



Five Spice Salmon and Roasted Cauliflower
Serves 3 (Odd portion, I know)

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut in to smallish florets
• 1/8 c. soy sauce
• Splash of olive oil
• One shake of crushed red pepper flakes
• ½ tsp or more freshly cracked black pepper
• 3 salmon filets
• Olive oil
• 1/8-1/4 Chinese Five Spice powder
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450. Combine first five ingredients in large bowl and toss. Toss every few minutes while you prepare the salmon.
2. Drizzle salmon with olive oil and rub with spice and add a good pinch of Kosher salt.
3. Spread cauliflower in an even layer on a baking sheet. Place salmon on separate sheet. Pop both in the oven for 20 minutes or so. Stir cauliflower occasionally. Fish will be done when the center is opaque and flakey, cauliflower is done when it’s tender.

Spiced Quinoa and Carrots

Quinoa has quickly become a standard starch in our house. Although, I think it's technically a seed, so that makes it . . . something that's like a starch but not really. All that matters to me is that they sell an organic variety in giant sacks at Costco. But if you prefer to purchase things in more meager quantities (wuss!) you can find it near the cous-cous in most grocery stores. This dish has a bit of a Moroccan flair, courtesy of the spice blend, and tonight it jazzed up some mild-mannered sauteed chicken breasts.

(The forecast calls for passing mint flurries.)

Spice Quinoa and Carrots
Serves 4 as a side

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1/2 a medium onion, diced
• 4 large carrots, peeled and diced
• 1/2 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. coriander
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 1 clove of garlic, minced or pressed
• 2 cups chicken broth or stock
• 1 cup quinoa
• salt and pepper
• handful of minced fresh mint (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a few big swirls of olive oil over medium high heat. Add onion and carrot and cook until soft, about five minutes. 
2. Add spices and stir to coat. Add garlic and chicken broth. Cover pot and bring to boil. 
3. When boiling, stir in quinoa. Cover and reduce heat to low to medium, just enough to keep it simmering constantly. Cook until quinoa is soft and has absorbed most of the liquid, 10-15 minutes. 
4. Season to taste with a fair amount of salt and pepper (remember, the only salt it's had until now is the chicken broth). Garnish with mint if you have it and serve.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

This was inspired by a salad made by my friend Donna’s mom, Miss Felicia.  I’m not sure if the ratios are quite right, but when I asked dear Miss Felicia for her recipe it was given in more “a little of this, a little of that” type measurements rather than precise quantities. But isn’t that how all the best picnic recipes go?

This was the best I could recreate, based on what I remembered of her directions (and after a quick email to Donna!) and it really did turn out pretty well.  It's a great addition to the summer salad line-up. It’s mayo-less, so it can set out a bit, and it can be thrown together quickly ahead of time. 

Broccoli and Cauliflower Salad

Serves 8 

Ingredients:

• 1 head of broccoli, florets only, cut in to bite size pieces
• 1 head of cauliflower, florets only, cut in to bite size pieces
• ¼ onion, finely diced (thin red onion slices would have been nice, but our grocery store was inexplicably out of reds)
• ½ pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ½ can black olives, sliced.
• 1 packet dry ranch dressing mix
• ½ cup mild vinegar (I used rice wine)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Adobo salt (Probably not in Miss Felicia's recipe, but have you tried this yet? It's like magic flavor dust. Find it in the international aisle or even in the regular spice section.)

Directions:

1. Combine veggies in a large bowl. Whisk together dressing, oil and vinegar in seperate and then toss with vegetables.
2. Season to taste with adobo salt. Refrigerate for an hour or two prior to serving.

Roasted carrots with rosemary

Oohhh, look at me. Two recipes in a row! Please don't get too excited -- they're only vegetables. The easiest dinner party-quality vegetables I know.
 

Roasted carrots with rosemary
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 8 carrots, peeled and sliced on a bias, about 1/4-1/2 inch thick
• Leaves from 1-2 springs of rosemary
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil. Combine carrots and rosemary with a good glug or two of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper
2. Roast for about 15-20 minutes until just soft, stirring once or twice along the way.

Zucchini with lemon and basil

Let's skip spring and go straight to summer, shall we? When I come home from the farmer's market with armloads of zucchini and tomatoes and corn and promptly run out of ideas to cook them. MOM's was displaying some perfect little zucchini specimens the other day, so I decided to get a jump start. My cousin Kelly introduced me to the first half of this recipe - simply grating the squash straight in to the pan with butter and garlic. The lemon and basil just add an extra summery touch. Freshly grated parmesan or crumbled feta would have been a perfect topping (full disclosure: this light and healthy side accompanied a super cheesy pasta, so we needed no additional fromage that night). This dish gets a little wet, so if you wanted to avoid extra zucchini juice, you could grate it ahead of time and wringe it out or press with a paper towel. I'm not that picky, though.

And I swear, this introduction is way too long for such a simple recipe!

Zucchini with lemon and basil
Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 tbs butter
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 2 medium zucchini
• a good handful (about 1/4-1/3 c.) basil leaves, chopped or chiffonade
• zest of 1/2 a lemon
• juice from 1/2 a lemon
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Heat butter in skillet over medium heat. When melted, add garlic. Just as the garlic starts to get really fragrant, grate zucchini in to pan. 
2. When zucchini is cooked through and slightly translucent, turn off heat and add basil, lemon zest and juice. Season well with salt and pepper.

Mashed Cauliflower with Rosemary and Bacon

I guess it's my calling to transform cruciferous vegetables using a simple Cuisinart, because I've recently discovered a way to whip up (literally) the humble cauliflower. It's a weird calling and probably not one I'll make much money out of, but it will do for now. At least for dinner.

I've been curious about mashed cauliflower ever since the low carb craze had people raving about them, but I've never been able to get the texture right. I figured that the sugar-deprived brains of crazy dieters will trick them in to eating just about anything and this mess - an unappetizing mix of chunky and watery, was not something sane people ate. Well, evidently my problem was actually my choice of equipment and the crazy dieters were indeed on to something. Mixers do nothing for cauliflower, food processors however, make them delightfully creamy. 

Mashed Cauliflower with Rosemary and Bacon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 head cauliflower, broken in to large florets
• 1 tbs butter
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely diced
•  salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 slices cooked bacon, crumbled

Directions:

1. Steam cauliflower until completely soft. Transfer to food processor. 
2. Add butter, milk and rosemary. Pulse and blend until very smooth and creamy. Add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Top with crumbled bacon.

Sprout it out

It seems the foodie world is evenly divided in to two camps: those who dig on brussel sprouts and those that think they taste like feet. I'm a proud upstanding member of the first group and I think I've found my favorite preparation. It helps that it's also the simplest. The key factor is not an ingredient, it's a hulking piece of equipment that I lug out from under my cabinet probably twice a month:

The magic machine that lives in my cabinet and consists of eleventy bajillion parts. He's complex. Let's call him Jeeves.

Jeeves makes quick work of shredding the sprouts - the key component to cooking them quickly and thus preventing too much of a sulfuric taste. There's lots more you can do with this recipe.  Bacon, garlic, pine nuts. But I like the simplicity of just butter, salt and pepper.

(Wow, this recipe is almost as complicated as Paula Dean's English Peas. Sorry. )

Shredded Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

• 1 lbs fresh brussel sprouts. Ends trimmed and yucky outer leaves removed.
• 1 tsp butter
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Shred the brussel sprouts in a food processor fitted with the slicing blade.
2. Melt  butter in large pan over medium high heat. Add sprouts and season liberally with salt and pepper. They'll caramelize a little when they hit the pan, then just stir and cook until completely wilted. The end!

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese

Such an oddly delightful combination! Beets and goat cheese atop fresh greens with a tangy dressing make for a great summer salad (Corduroy's version with carrots is particularly good), but I was looking for something a bit cozier this time of year. This isn't much of a recipe, I admit, but it's definitely something I'll be making for falls and winters to come.

Roasted Beets with Goat Cheese
Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized beets (baseball to softball size)
• olive oil
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper
• crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub beets, wrap tightly in foil and place on baking sheet in hot oven. Bake for about an hour, until they can be pierced through with a fork.
• Set aside to cool for a few minutes. As soon as your hands can stand it, peel and cut beets into chunks. Oh yeah, and also - your hands will get slightly stained. Just slightly. Not too bad. It's worth it.
  
• Place beet chunks in bowl and sprinkle with oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Toss and top with goat cheese.
  

What the stalk is that?

An alien mace? Mutant broccoli? No, but perhaps even more frightening - brussel sprouts! Wait, come back! They're good, I promise.

Pan Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Serves 4


Ingredients:

• about 30 brussel sprouts (this was half my stalk)
• 1 tbs. butter
  
• 1/2 c. beef or chicken broth
• 1 tbs. apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Remove sprouts from stalk with paring knife, if necessary. Peel away any damaged outer leaves. Slice each sprout in half.
  
• Melt butter in large pan over medium high. When butter stops foaming, add brussel sprouts to pan, cut side down. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• After sprouts have browned (about 5 minutes), add broth and vinegar. Cover until brussel sprouts are steamed through, about 5 minutes.
  
• Uncover and allow any excess liquid to evaporate. Serve, drizzling with melted butter if desired. Change the minds of sprout-haters forever!

Oh, and what did I do with the rest of that stalk, you ask? I cut off the end and stored it in the fridge like asparagus - upright in a glass of water. They should stay fresh and firm for a few more days:Night-night.