I’ve had a request for more vegetarian recipes around here, but sorry, this is not one.  I will get to those, I promise…just not now.  This was a salad recipe I spied a few weeks ago that looked like a heaty, warm winter salad.  It was, and the mustardy vinaigrette was great with the potatoes and sausage.  It’s a healthier alternative to a heavy winter dish of sausage and potatoes.  This recipe from For the Love of Cooking was adapted from a Real Simple recipe.

Ingredients:

For the salad:

4 large chicken sausages, sundried-tomato and feta or garlic and herb flavored

3 vine-ripe tomatoes, cut into quarters

1 red onion, cut into large chunks

1 c baby potatoes, halved or quartered, depending on size.  you want them bite-sized

2 c button mushrooms, quartered

10-15 asparagus spears, end snapped and stalks cut in half

3-4 cloves garlic, with skins on

1 bag fresh baby spinach

olive oil for drizzling

salt and pepper to taste

Feta or other cheese (optional)

For the dressing:

2 T balsamic vinegar

3 T olive oil

2 T water

2 T whole grain mustard

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  On a baking sheet, place tomatoes, onion, mushrooms, garlic and baby potatoes.  Drizzle with olive oil (maybe 2 T), sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat.   Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.  Add asparagus and roast for 10 more minutes, until potatoes can be pierced with a knife and asparagus and mushrooms are tender.

Meanwhile, cook the sausages in a skillet over medium heat for 10 minutes, until cooked through and browned.  Slice and keep warm.

Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a small bowl and season with salt and pepper.  Set aside.

When vegetables are done, remove them from the oven.  Squeeze garlic out of skins and chop.  Put about 1 t of garlic in the dressing and whisk together.  Toss the rest of the vegetables with the garlic (use as much as you think you’d like.)

Toss together the spinach, vegtables, sausages and dressing.  Divide among plates and spinkle with cheese, if desired.

Posted by popular demand, here is a curry recipe some folks have seen on my camera and wanted me to post.  I didn’t post it when I made it because although it was tasty, the recipe wasn’t quite what I was expecting.  The main issue comes from the fact that you puree raw vegetables- like onion, jalapenos, ginger and garlic- in the food processor, and it supposedly forms a paste.  I must say mine was kind of a gritty paste that never really smoothed out.  That said, the dish was delicious, but it had a funky texture.  I suspect sauteing the vegetables before you puree them might help, because they will be softer and breakdown more easily.  If you try that out, let me know how that works.  Otherwise, make this dish from the Splendid Table’s How to Eat Supper and let me know what you think.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For curry paste:

1 large onion, cut in half

6 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped

3″ fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1/2 t salt

1/2 t ground cinnamon

1 t ground cumin

1 1/2 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground black pepper

2 medium ripe tomatoes, or 4 canned tomatoes

1-2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

1/2 c water

For sauce:

2 T vegetable oil

2 c full fat plain yogurt

1/3 c water

2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 T fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:

In a food processor or blender, combine 1/2 the onion (save the other half for later) and the remaining curry paste ingredients and process until smooth.  Set aside.

Thinly slice the remaining onion half.  In a large skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium high heat and add the sliced onion.  Saute until it begins to get some color, about 5-7  minutes.  Add the curry paste (add more oil if the paste sticks to the bottom of the pan) and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes (don’t rush this- it needs to cook to develop the flavor).  Add 2/3 c of the yogurt to the curry paste, scraping it from the bottom of the pan, and cook until it nearly disappears, about 8-10 minutes.

Add the rest of the yogurt, the chicken, and 1/3 c water and cook at a low simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5-8 minutes.  Remove chicken from the pan to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Raise the heat on the pan until the mixutre is boiling, then boil until the curry sauce is thick and the oil begins to seperate from it- about 10 more minutes.   Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with the cilantro.  Serve with steamed basmati ric

You probably thought I dropped off the face of the Earth.  That’s almost true, and I sure haven’t done any cooking in the past week.  However, I will leave you with a favorite recipe perfect for this time of year.  I love lentils and soup, and especially lentil soup.  This one gets a lot of flavor from turkey Italian sausage and tastes better every day.  It makes a lot so you can eat on it during the week.  The lentils will absorb a lot of water even it has finished cooking.  Just keep thinning with water each time you reheat it to make a soupy consistency.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, chopped

1 shallot, minced

1/4 c celery, chopped fine

1/4 c carrot, chopped fine

2 t dried Italian herbs

1 t red pepper flakes (or to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

3-4 big links mild or hot Italian turkey sausage (or pork), depending on how meaty you like it.

1 bag brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

6 c chicken stock or water

Parmesan for top

1/2 c chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Directions:

Heat olive oil in big stock pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and saute for 30 sec until you smell it.  Add shallot, carrots and celery and saute until softened, about 5 minutes.  Add red pepper flakes, Italian herbs and salt and pepper to taste, and combine.  Remove sausage from casings and crumble into pan.  Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until it is cooked through.  Turn heat up to high and add rinsed lentils and 6 c of the stock or water.  Bring to a boil, then turn heat down so the soup is at a gentle simmer.  Cook for 35 minutes, adding more stock or water if necessary.  When lentils are tender and broken down, taste and season with more salt and pepper, if necessary.  You could stir in a 1/2 c of freshly chopped parsley if you’d like.  Serve topped with Parmesan.

I’ve been delinquent in talking about the Mexican feast Haley and I made for friends who were in town for a wedding.  We had a taco party with carnitas and chicken, and rice and black beans, plus lots of toppings.  And it was delicious.  I’m going to share the black bean and rice recipes with you, but both are stolen shamelessly from Homesick Texan with no changes.  The Mexican rice was particularly good and just like the good kind you find in Mexican restaurants.  It keeps well too, and the flavor was almost better after a few days.  Sorry, no pictures, because we just dug right in.  I should also note I made the rice in a rice cooker and it worked great.  Just place the rice, chicken stock and butter in the rice cooker and cook.  Then saute your onions and garlic in a pan and follow the rest of the recipe.  Serves 4-6.

Ingredients:

1 cup rice, rinsed

2 cups chicken broth

1 T butter

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 c tomato paste

1 T lime juice

1/2 c  cilantro, minced

1 T cumin (You can use less if you prefer, I just like the flavor.)

Salt to taste

Directions:
Place rice, chicken broth and butter into a rice cooker and cook.  Or, place in a pot, bring to a boil on high, stir once and cover.  Simmer on low for 20 minutes, then remove from heat and keep covered for 5 to 10 minutes longer.

Meanwhile cook onions in oil in a skillet for 10 minutes or until just beginning to brown.  Add the garlic and cook for one minute.  Stir in tomato paste and cumin and cook for one minute.  Mix in the cooked rice, lime juice and cilantro, and season to taste.

Fall is here in full force- there isn’t a chill in the air, it’s more like a blast of cold air today.  I made this salad last week when it was much

roasted butternut squash and apple salad

warmer than today, but there was still a slight chill, which was enough to get me in the mood for Fall produce.  It’s a fairly quick salad to make- throw the butternut squash in the oven, then prep the rest of the ingredients while it roasts.  I served this with one of the farmer’s market’s great rotisserie chickens for a really fast meal.  Plus, this makes great leftovers!  This recipe from Bon Appetit makes 4 large serving salads.

Ingredients:

For the dressing:

2 T balsamic vinegar

2 T fresh lemon juice

4-6 T extra-virgin olive oil

For the salad:

1/8 c balsamic vinegar

2 t brown sugar

2 lb butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1″ dice

1 bag salad greens, such as arugula

1 Fuji, Gala or Pink Lady apple, unpeeled and sliced into 1/4″ slices

1 c blue cheese, crumbled

1/2 c dried cranberries

Directions:

For the dressing: whisk vinegar and lemon juice together in a small bowl.  Gradually drizzle oil into mixture and whisk to combine.  Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

For the salad: preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Mix together vinegar and sugar to dissolve sugar.  Scatter butternut squash cubes on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.  Bake squash for 10 minutes.  Remove from oven, then drizzle brown sugar glaze over squash.  Toss to coat the squash, then bake for another 10 minutes, then mix squash around again to coat in the glaze on the pan.  Bake for another 10 minutes, or until squash is tender when pierced with a knife.

Meanwhile, arrange greens, apples, cranberries and cheese on plates.  When squash is done, place atop the salads and drizzle with the dressing.

This is a Dorie Greenspan recipe I spotted on food blogs almost a year ago…too late, I think, to make it for Greg’s last birthday, and so

chocolate peanut butter torte

long that I’ve really built it up in my head and was expecting great things.  And it did deliver.  The torte has a few steps, but is relatively simple to make and not too time consuming.  The finished torte has a creamy, medium-heavy filling of peanut butter, cream cheese and whipped cream, with lots of chunks of crunchy peanuts.  I read that some people had a hard time making the cookie crust and recommended increasing the number of Oreos you use, which I did by 25%.  I still couldn’t get the crust to come all the way up the edges, but that was purely my ineptitude.  It was still great, and great looking, and the corner of the crust was thick with Oreos.  I’ve posted the amounts the recipe originally called for, but if you want, you can use 30 Oreos and 5 T butter for an extra-thick crust.  Serves 12-16, depending on how thick you cut the slices.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 c coarsely chopped salted peanuts (use cocktail peanuts, not dry roasted)

2 t granulated sugar

1/2 t instant espresso powder

1/4 t ground cinnamon

Few dashes of ground nutmeg

1/2 c mini chocolate chips, or finely chopped semi-sweet chocolate

24 Oreo cookies, finely ground in a food processor

4 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2 1/2 c heavy cream

1 1/4 c confectioner’s sugar, sifted

12 oz cream cheese at room temperature

1 1/2 c salted smooth peanut butter (do not use natural peanut butter)

2 T whole milk

4 oz semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Butter a 9″ round spring form pan.  In a medium bowl, toss together the Oreo crumbs and melted butter with a fork until just moistened.  Press the Oreo mixture into the pan in a thin, even layer, working it up the sides of the pan as far as you can go.  Bake crust for 10 minutes, then remove from oven and let cool completely in the pan.

Meanwhile, toss 1/2 c chopped peanuts, granulated sugar, espresso powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and chocolate chips together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat 2 c cold heavy cream until medium peaks form.  Beat in 1/4 c sifted confectioner’s sugar until medium-firm peaks form.  Place whipped cream in refrigerator until ready to use.

Using a stand mixer with sturdy beaters (you don’t want to use whisk beaters), cream the cream cheese and remainign 1 c confectioner’s sugar until satiny smooth.  Add the peanut butter, 1/4 c chopped peanuts and the milk.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

Using a rubber spatula, gently stir in one quarter of the whipped cream to lighten the peanut butter  mixture.  Gently stir in the peanut chocolate mixture you assembled earlier, then gently fold in the remaining whipped cream- fold gently until just combined so as not to deflate the mousse.  Scrape the mixture into the cooled crust and smooth the top.  Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, covering top with plastic wrap as soon as it has firmed a bit.

To finish the torte, place 4 oz chopped semi-sweet chocolate in the top of a double boiler over simmering water just until chocolate has begun to soften and melts a bit.  Meanwhile, bring remaining 1/2 c cream to a full boil in a small saucepan.   When chocolate is ready, remove bowl from the heat and pour the hot cream over the top.  Whisk until mixture is smooth.  Spread chocolate over the top of the chilled torte and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 c peanuts.  Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes until topping is set.  When you are ready to serve the torte, warm the sides of the pan with a hair dryer or warm towel for about 10 seconds.  Gently remove sides of pan, slice and serve.

So, first it was chicken shawarma, and now it’s turkey shawarma.  But whatever the shawarma you pick, it’s all tasty.  This dish is

turkey shawarma

surprisingly quick to make- if you ignore the recommended 4-8 hour sitting time for the turkey, which I did when we decided to grill out last Friday.  I don’t think we lost anything in terms of flavor, and had dinner on the table in about 30 minutes- less if you made the tomato relish and tahini sauce ahead of time.  The recipe, which comes from Bon Appetit, makes 8 servings, so I scaled it down to 4, which makes 4-6 pita wraps, depending on the size of pita used.  It’s great served with grilled zucchini on the side.

Ingredients:

For the turkey:

1 1/4 lb turkey cutlets (Publix carried these- it’s thin slices of turkey breast)

1 onion, cut into 1/4″ rounds

1/2 T ground turmeric

1 t coarse kosher salt

1 t ground coriander

1/2 t ground cumin

1/2 t ground black pepper

1/2 t ground white pepper

1/2 t hot paprika or cayenne pepper

4 T (about) extra-virgin olive oil, divided

6-8 whole wheat pita breads

For the tomato relish:

1/2 lb ripe tomatoes, finely chopped (with seeds and juices

1/3 cup finely chopped red onion

2 T chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

3 T fresh lemon juice

1 serrano chile, seeded, finely chopped

For the tahini sauce:

1/2 c tahini (sesame seed paste)*

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup (or more) hot water

Directions:

Combine all dry spices in a small bowl and mix to combine.  Sprinkle spices over onion and both sides of the turkey cutlets.  Drizzle with 1-2 T olive oil and let sit for a few minutes, or covered and in the refrigerator for 4-8 hours.

Meanwhile, combine all the tomato relish ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine the tahini ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to a smooth sauce and season to taste with salt.  I kept mine about the consistency of ketchup, but you can add more water to thin if needed.

When turkey cutlets are ready, heat a grill and grease grill racks.  Place cutlets and onion on the grill and let cook 1-2 minutes per side, until cutlets are just done and the onions are softened.  Cooking time will depend upon thickness.  Toast pitas on the grill for 1-2 minutes to soften them.  Remove onions and cutlets from the grill to a plate and cut into 1/2″ strips.  Layer turkey, onions, tomato relish and tahini sauce on pitas, fold and eat!  Garnish with dill pickes, if desired.

A weekend of over-indulging on food at the Greek festival, bachelorette party fare and an awesome brunch made me

pasta fagiole

want to get my act together on Sunday night for dinner.  I was craving something filling and with pasta, so I needed to get some veggies in there too.  I remembered seeing some recipes for pasta fagiole (Italian for beans) last year and decided to make a quick version with more vegetables and turkey sausage to lighten it up a bit.  The results were great- it can be done in less than 30 minutes (although you can simmer it longer to make the flavors meld more) and it was filling without being overwhelmingly heavy.  Pasta fagiole is kind of a cross between and soup, stew and pasta, and I chose to cook the pasta separately and ladle the beans over it- that way the pasta doesn’t get soggy.  A good sprinkling of Parmesan, and it’s ready to go.  You can easily omit the sausage and switch to chicken broth to make this vegetarian- you might just want to throw in another can of beans.  This makes great leftovers and can easily be doubled.  Serves 4 generously.

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil

1 large or 2 small carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4″ dice

2 stalks celery, cut into 1/4″ dice

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t dried Italian seasoning

pinch red pepper flakes

3 links hot Italian turkey sausage

2 medium tomatoes, cut into 1/4″ dice

2 T tomato paste

3 c or more chicken or vegetable stock

2-14 oz cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 c fresh basil, roughly chopped

4 big handfuls spinach, roughly chopped (optional)

1 lb pasta such as rigatoni, ditalini, fusilli or orrechitte

Parmesan for sprinkling

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium high heat and add carrots, celery, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and sausage squeezed out of the casing.  Saute for 4-5 minutes until softened, breaking up the sausage into bite-size pieces.  Add chopped tomatoes and continue cooking for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add tomato paste and stir constantly for about 2 minutes to thicken the mixture.  Turn up heat, add the chicken stock and beans, and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and keep at a simmer.  Taste and season with salt and pepper.  Cook, partially covered, for 10 or more minutes.

Meanwhile, cook pasta to al dente according to package directions and drain, then set aside.

When pasta is ready and bean mixture has simmered for at least 10 minutes, add the spinach and stir until it has wilted.  Turn off the heat and stir in the basil.  Your beans should be liquidy, about the consistency of soupy black beans.  If they are too thick, add more broth or water to achieve the desired consistency.  Divide pasta among bowls, then ladle beans over pasta.  Top with Parmesan.

This is one of those drop everything and go make this now recipes.  It was that good.  In fact, so good I bumped it up

warm lentil salad with smoked paprika

in my queue of posts.

I made this recipe two nights ago thinking it would pretty tasty because I love lentils and smoked paprika, and I was lured in by the picture of Spanish ham and a fried egg on top.  Little did I realize how much smoked paprika I would taste and how creamy the goat cheese made the lentils- totally delicious.  This would be a great lunch for entertaining in the fall or winter, and a great filling dinner.  It was so filling and had so much flavor, I decided to skip the fried egg, but it would be a great replacement for the ham and make this vegetarian friendly.  I added roasted tomatoes, thinking I would want more flavor, but you can skip them- just the lentils and ham are enough.  This recipe from Metropolitan Home serves 3.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 c Pardina lentils, rinsed (okay, I don’t know what these are either, but I used small brown lentils and they worked great)

2 t Spanish smoked paprika (sweet or hot)

salt and pepper

2 t Sherry vinegar

1/4 lb baby spinach

2-3 oz soft goat cheese at room temperature (this called for 4 oz, which is a half cup, but I scaled it back because it was more than you needed.  Start with 1/4 c (2 oz) and add more if desired)

Accompaniments: roasted cherry tomatoes, sliced Spanish ham (such as Serrano) or a fried or soft-poached egg

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a saucepan or small stock pot over medium heat.  Add garlic, onion and carrot and saute for about 5 minutes, until tender but not browned.  Add lentils and stir well to mix, then add smoked paprika and salt and pepper.  Pour 2 1/2 c cold water over lentils to cover and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 20-25 minutes, until lentils are tender but still hold their shape.  A nice low simmer is key to making sure the skins don’t split and become mushy.

When lentils are cooked, drain and return lentils to the pot.  Turn heat on low and add baby spinach, stirring until it just begins to wilt.  Check to see if you need more salt or pepper, then stir in goat cheese.  Heat for 1-2 minutes until spinach is completley wilted, then remove from heat.  Sitr in 2 t Sherry vinegar and serve with desired accompaniements.

I’m sure everyone has that go-to meal that when you have no idea what to make for dinner, you can always fall

chipotle chicken quesadillas

back on this dish.  For some people that means a meal that can be made from ingredients you always have on hand (for me the only thing I could make at any given time is cereal), and for others, it’s a meal that’s quick to shop for and easy to prepare.  For us, that’s quesadillas made with chicken sauteed with Cajun seasoning and sauteed zucchini, mushrooms and black beans, all folded into a tortilla with cheese and crisped in a pan.  Delicious and worth eating about once a week, but not blog worth.  So, when I ran across a recipe for chipotle chicken in Gourmet, I thought that might elevate my quesadillas to blog-worthiness.  The chipotle barbecue sauce is great, and can be added to the pan while cooking the chicken.  It’s a bit spicy, but gets tamed down by all the vegetables and adds a lot of flavor to your average quesadilla.  This recipe is mostly a guideline- use your favorite vegetables and meat for this dish.  Serves 4.

Ingredients:

For the chipotle sauce:

1 T olive oil

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1/2 c ketchup

1 T Dijon mustard

1 T packed dark brown sugar

2 T chopped chipotle chiles in adobo

1/2 T Worcestershire sauce

1 T cider vinegar

1/4 t ground cinnamon

For the quesadillas:

Vegetable oil for pan

1 large zucchini, sliced 1/4″ thick and slices cut in half

1 box sliced portabello mushrooms

5-6 chicken tenderloins or 2 small chicken breasts, cut into 1/2″ cubes

1 14 oz can seasoned black beans, drained but not rinsed

8 flour tortillas (I used “soft taco size”)

2 c finely shredded Mexican cheese blend, or Monterrey Jack and cheddar mix

Salsa and sour cream for serving

Directions:

To make the chipotle sauce: heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, then add garlic slices.  Cook until golden, about 2 minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients.  Stir to combine and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes, adding a little water if the sauce becomes too thick.  Set aside.

Heat some vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat.  Add chicken plus 1/2 c chipotle sauce and saute until cooked through, about 5 minutes.  Chicken should be nicely coated in sauce with some extra.  Scrape chicken and sauce into a large bowl.  In same skillet or another one, heat a bit more vegetable oil and saute zucchini and mushrooms until tender, about 5-7 minutes.   Remove vegetables to bowl with chicken.  Add 1 c drained black beans to chicken and vegetables and stir to combine.

Heat 1 or 2 non-stick skillets (2 if you need 2 quesadillas ready at the same time) over medium heat with 1 t vegetable oil in each.  Swirl pans to coat the bottom with the oil and place 1 tortilla in each skillet.  Sprinkle with a pinch of cheese, then place about 1 cup of the chicken mixutre over the tortilla, leaving 1 inch around the sides free of filling.  Sprinkle a handful of cheese (about 1/4-1/3 c) over the top of the mixture and place another tortilla on top.  When the tortilla on the bottom is browned and crsipy, flip the quesadilla and brown the other side.  Remove from pan, cut into wedges and serve.  Repeat with remaining ingredients.