Weekending

Since reinstating "Pizza Friday" in April, we've been faithful in upholding the tradition. Though not always innovative with our choice of toppings (which often falls to pepperoni and olives), the crust and sauce are always homemade. In April, I referred you to Elise of Simply Recipes for a spectacular crust recipe, which with her fine pictures and directions is sure to be a success. So this time, I thought I'd share a sauce recipe.






This sauce has a balanced sweet/salty flair with the addition of the Parmesan cheese and honey. It flattered the similar sweet/salty combo of this week's choice of toppings: pineapple and Canadian bacon.

Pizza Sauce
(adapted from Allrecipes.com)

1 can tomato sauce
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1 medium clove garlic, minced (about 1 tsp.)
1 tbs. honey
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
pinch pepper
pinch salt

Combine and allow to sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Spread over crust and top as desired.

In other news . . .


This was the perfect accompaniment for a stormy Saturday afternoon. In case you can't tell, the book is the Penguin Classics edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. Since most of my Austen books were purged in a yard sale several years ago (I must have been in one of my desperate purging moods), I'm thinking of rebuilding my collection with these hardcover editions. Each cover is slightly different and they have such a nostalgic feel to them (minus the dust and musty smell of most vintage books).

I hope you're enjoying your weekend . . .

Summer Supper: Inspiration

Whenever I get into a food funk I try to reflect on past sources of inspiration to light my cooking fire again. These days, my sources of inspiration are mostly blogs and food websites, and of course, cooking shows (which incidentally, I watch while I'm working out - go figure).

Of course, this hasn't always been the case. The internet was just taking off when I was a teenager and we didn't have a home computer until I was in my sophomore year of high school. Growing up, my earliest influence was cooking with my mother. I worked alongside her nearly every evening, preparing dinner. When I was younger my mother was what you might call a "homestyle" cook so under her direction I learned the basics - sauteing, searing, frying, baking, all that good stuff.

However, it was travel that sparked my interest in becoming more exploratory and experimenting with unfamiliar ingredients. My dad traveled internationally for work and I often tagged along. After each trip I strove to recreate the flavors that I'd experienced abroad in my family's kitchen.

The first "gourmet" dish that I ever made was a Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Fennel from the book, Under the Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. Both the fennel and the Mascarpone cheese that the recipe called for were virtually unexplored ingredients in our household. It was a much richer dish than my family was used to eating but it was deemed a success. I started tinkering with the ingredients and eventually transformed it into something that became a regular stand-by recipe for potlucks and family gatherings.

I would say that experience defines my approach to food which is a blend of trying out the creations of others, and then tinkering with my own additions and adaptations.

One of my recent inspirations is David Lebovitz, who I discovered when I was searching for a recipe for spanakopita. I stumbled across his and gave it a shot - it was a fabulous pairing of simple ingredients. The only thing that I left out was the nutmeg.



I served it alongside a marinated bean salad. The twangy, slightly sweet Mediterranean flavors complimented the earthy flavors of the feta and spinach in the spanakopita.

Marinated Bean Salad

3 tbs. olive oil
2 tbs. red wine vinegar
2 tbs. honey
2 tbs. chopped, fresh mint
1/4 c. parsley
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, diced
2 tbs. olives, minced
1 can of white/Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed well
squeeze of lemon juice, about 1-2 tsp.
salt and pepper, to taste
feta (option, for topping)

Whisk together oil, vinegar, and honey. Add all other ingredients, through salt/pepper and toss gently. Allow to marinate at least one hour (longer is better) in the refrigerator. Sprinkle individual portions with feta cheese, if desired.

WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION?

Too Hot to Cook

Ok, I'll add to the plethora (don't you love that word?) of posts out there about the heat. It's hot, folks. As I went out to water my flowers this morning I grew just a little bit irritable as I broke into a sweat at 8:00AM! The heat has also impacted my desire to cook. I've been trying not to let the air conditioner run constantly so it's usually pretty balmy in my house. The last thing I want to do is raise the mercury even higher by turning on the stove or the oven. I'll admit I'm not altogether too inventive when it comes to no-cook food so it's usually just the standard salad or sandwich.



Last week, while it was still in the 80s (which seems like it would feel really nice and cool right about now) I made this pasta dish that I read about from a fellow blogger at The Hungry Dog. It seemed like it would be a nice break from the usual tomato-based pasta dish. Indeed, it was! The sauce was creamy, without the cream and no single flavor was too overpowering. I love the flavor of cooked spinach and the ham added a hint of sweet saltiness. It was a great summer comfort food; filling, but not too heavy, and best of all, simple.

I've posted my adapted version below as well as a link to the lovely, original post at The Hungry Dog, who found the recipe in Essentials of Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan, which looks like a lovely cookbook.

Pasta with Spinach Sauce

1 16 - oz. package fresh spinach
3 tbs. butter
1 c. cubed ham
1 15 oz. container ricotta
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
salt
1 lb. penne pasta

In a large pot, cook spinach over medium heat until reduced and wilted. Drain slightly. (Note: I didn't excessively drain my spinach as I wanted the spinach water to replace some of the butter in this recipe, allowing the sauce to maintain a liquid consistency. ) Saute the ham in butter for several minutes until lightly browned. Add the ricotta, Parmesan, and salt to taste. Cook for several more minutes or until heated through, adding small amounts of salted pasta water if necessary to achieve the desired consistency). Cook pasta according to package instructions then drain and combine with sauce. Top with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.

Enjoy! This pasta was fantastic. Thanks again to The Hungry Dog for the inspiration.

Barefoot Bloggers: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This cake was fabulous! I admit, I did make quite a few adaptations. I don't do a lot of baking in the summer, particularly baking rich, heavy foods. So the changes that I made were in an effort to make it lighter and healthier while still staying as true as possible to the original recipe and flavor.

First off, since this cake looked gigantic, I made a half batch. I also used part whole wheat flour and low fat sour cream. I opted against the glaze and instead put all of the streusel on top. The cake was moist and and the flavors light and simple - the perfect after dinner treat. This is definitely a keeper and I will no doubt be seeking this recipe out to make as it was originally intended for a special occasion or holiday.

I've posted my adaptations below - as always you can click the title to view the original recipe.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
(adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

6 tbs. butter, room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 c. sour cream
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
3/4 c. all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Streusel

2 tbs. brown sugar
1/4 c. flour
3/4 tsp. cinnamon
pinch of salt
1 1/2 tbs. cold butter
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour single layer 8-inch cake pan (I used a cheesecake pan so that I could remove the outer rim without disrupting the topping).

Cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to the batter until just combined.

For the streusel, mix together sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in cold butter, then add walnuts. Pour into prepared pan then sprinkle streusel evenly on top. Bake for 40 - 50 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

Serve and enjoy!

To learn more about Barefoot Bloggers, click the icon below.

Barefoot Bloggers Meets Summer Supper

The BB pick for this month is Scalloped Tomatoes, but when I checked the episode guide I decided to make everything from that show in one meal. The episode was entitled Farm Stand Food and also included Zucchini Pancakes and Cape Codd Chopped Salad.

I must admit that while the scalloped tomatoes were pretty good, I enjoyed the zucchini pancakes and chopped salad more. The scalloped tomatoes were a wee bit too sweet for me and if I make them again, I'll be sure to put 1 tbs. of sugar instead of 2 - perhaps even less. I also think that the bread chunks are sufficient if the entire portion is eaten at once. However, this is almost never the case at my house as I'm only feeding my husband and myself. I typically cook 4 nights per week and the days in-between are leftover nights. When we reheated the scalloped tomatoes the second night, the bread chunks didn't hold up, and kind of dissolved into the dish. I'm glad that I tried this dish but I think I will stick with my stand-by stewed tomatoes which I prepare similar to chicken n' dumplings, by cooking mounds of dough in boiling tomatoes. All said, it was a great Summer Supper!



The zucchini pancakes were quite tasty and the Cape Cod Chopped Salad was excellent! It has the blend of flavors that I most love in a salad with the saltiness from the bacon, the sweetness of the cranberries, and the slight tang from the dressing. It is definitely one that I will make again and again.

I'm including the recipes for the Zucchini Pancakes and Cobb Salad with my minor adaptations. (I've included a link for the scalloped tomatoes but I'm not posting the recipe here since I didn't make any changes.) Of course, you can click the links to see the original recipes.
Zucchini Pancakes



2 med. zucchini
2 medium shallots, minced
2 eggs, beaten
6 tbs. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
olive oil

Grate the zucchini and then transfer to a strainer. Press zucchini with a cloth to release some of the water. Stir in shallots and eggs, then flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper.

Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat then brush with olive oil. Spoon 1/3 c. pancake mixture onto pan and flatten with spatula or spoon. Note: Ina's recipe said to cook for 2 min on each side but mine took way longer than that - I'd estimate about 5-6 min. per side. I just kept checking them until they were sufficiently brown.

Pancakes can be kept warm in a 250 - 300 degree oven. I have an electric skillet so I simply threw all the pancakes back on the skillet for a few seconds to crispen them up before serving.
Cape Cod Chopped Salad



8 oz. Canadian bacon, sliced thick and cubed
1 apple, peeled and diced
1/2 c. walnut pieces
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1 bag of Italian Salad mix with herbs

Dressing:

3 tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 tsp. grated orange zest
juice from 1 orange
3 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 tbs. maple syrup
pinch of salt
pinch of pepper
1/3 c. olive oil

In a large bowl, toss together the bacon, apple, walnuts, and cranberries. Whisk together ingredients for the dressing then pour over the chopped mixture. When ready to serve, spoon the mixture over Italian salad mix.


Want to see more Barefoot Blogger recipes? Click on the icon below.

Saying Good-Bye to Spring

On this, the eve of summer, it has been perhaps the hottest day of the season. I haven't checked the stats so I don't know that for a fact, but with the humidity it has surely felt like the hottest day of the season.

All day I've been daydreaming about this. . . .


I actually made this on a rather cool spring day in late April. It had been unseasonably warm for several days in a row but on the day that I made this, the temperatures took a 30-degree nosedive. Go figure. We still enjoyed the refreshing flavor of this somewhat light dessert.

So needless to say, the ingredients for a new batch of ice cream has made its way onto my grocery list for tomorrow. I contemplated making this, which I spotted on La Bella Cook. However, my hubby has requested chocolate, so I'll go with that for now. But doesn't that Margarita ice cream sound absolutely divine?

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

2 c. vanilla yogurt
1/2 c. 2% or whole milk
1/4 c. sugar
1 pint fresh strawberries, smashed
a few sprigs of mint for garnish

Dissolve sugar into strawberries over low heat. Allow to come to room temperature after sugar has dissolved. Meanwhile combine yogurt and milk. Mix with a whisk until smooth. Add cooled strawberries to the mixture and combine with an electric mixer on low speed for about 30 seconds. Process in ice cream maker for about 20 - 30 minutes.

Where in the world have I been?!?

Yes, I have had a bit of an unexplained absence lately. No, I did not fall off the blogosphere. I've just been on vacation. Now, if I was a good little blogger I would have posted to that effect and indeed I intended to but there was so much to do in the days leading up to our departure that it just didn't happen. As each day unfolded I would think to myself, when I get everything done, I'll sit down and post. . . You see how that turned out.

So where in the world have I been? Actually, nowhere too terribly exciting. I just spent a quiet week at Topsail Beach in North Carolina. We rent a house there every summer and we only go out to eat one night during the week so preparing for the trip is quite the ordeal. With all the stuff we have to take I tend to feel like I'm moving instead of going on vacation.




In the midst of the chaos before we left, I did manage to cook one good, wholesome meal. I had intended to post this as a grilled shrimp recipe for Barefoot Bloggers, however, it rained nearly every evening during the week that the post was scheduled so I finally gave up and just sauteed them. I followed the recipe for Ina's Grilled Herb Shrimp exactly, except of course, for the actual grilling part, and they were still delicious. I served them over vermicelli seasoned with garlic, salt, and parsley and alongside some sauteed kale, which we purchased locally from our Farmer's Market.

This was a great summer supper! It didn't take long to cook and the flavors were fresh and crisp. Since next week marks the beginning of summer, I intend to post one "Summer Supper" per week.

I'll leave you now with a few images from my week at the beach. . .


This shrimp boat was actually way off in the distance. My awesome Nikon Coolpix s630 captured the people on board, which you couldn't see from the shore.



This is the view from Daddy Mac's, which is where we typically go for our one meal out. That night, I had some fabulous grilled shrimp skewers.