Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers: Lunch & Dinner

This is the seventh, and final, post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, and the second in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series! The dinner party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous! After dinner, I had a refrigerator full of leftovers and this series covers the creation of new and delicious dishes made with the leftovers.

In addition to the delicious breakfasts we made from the dinner party leftovers, we also had a tasty lunch and dinner.  We had enough steak and broccoli romanesco for another meal and some tomatoes and plenty of ricotta.

First on the agenda was a Saturday afternoon lunch.  I sliced a few pieces of leftover sesame bread and laid them out on two plates. Instead of using mayo or mustard, I spread the leftover roasted garlic cloves onto the bread before adding the sliced steak and topping with another piece of bread.  A quick trip into a 350 degree oven yielded a warm and flavorful sandwich. The romanesco was delicious reheated - because it has more of a cauliflower texture it doesn't get as mushy as reheated broccoli.

After a busy day of errands we were ready for dinner!  I surveyed the remaining leftovers and found tomatoes and ricotta.  There was also a package of Nella Pasta's whole wheat linguine in the refrigerator. I checked the freezer for vegetables and came up with a frozen homemade pesto cube from my summer herb harvest.  I put everything on the counter and starting brainstorming on what to create.

The result? Whole wheat linguine with a creamy pesto heirloom tomato sauce.  This was quick, easy and healthy!  One dish = plenty of whole grains, calcium, nutrients & flavor!  Just look at the whole wheat goodness in the Nella pasta:

I hope you've enjoyed the dinner party & leftovers series.  It's been a lot of fun to put together.  We had a wonderful party and great leftovers! I challenge you to turn your leftovers into something creative and delicious the next time you're faced with a fridge full of the same.  I can't wait to hear about your favorite leftover creations!

Creamy Tomato Herb Sauce
A cup or two of diced heirloom tomatoes
1 frozen pesto cube (about 2 tablespoons)
1/4 cup fresh ricotta cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Puree tomatoes in a food processor until almost smooth
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a skillet or sauce pan over medium heat
Add pureed tomatoes and saute until cooked through (about 10 minutes)
Stir in pesto cube and cook until melted, stirring often
Remove from heat and stir in ricotta
Spoon over pasta and serve!

Summary: 
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: Sauce - 15-20 minutes; Pasta - 3-4 minutes for fresh pasta
Food processor, sauce pan, spoon, serving dishes

Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers: Breakfast Ideas

This is the sixth post in the Local Luxury Dinner Party series, and the first in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series! The dinner party was part of the Next Food Blog Star competition hosted by Foodbuzz. While I didn't advance in the competition, the party was still fabulous! After dinner, I had a refrigerator full of leftovers and this series covers the creation of new and delicious dishes made with the leftovers.

Hosting a delicious dinner party means a refrigerator of tasty leftovers! It would be easy to recreate the same meal a few more times, but it’s more fun to transform the leftovers into creative new dishes. First up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers series is breakfast. Here are three different ways that I repurposed my dinner party leftovers into delightful morning meals.

We were still stuffed the morning after the party and decided to have light breakfast. We topped toasted slices of the Italian sesame bread with leftover ricotta and a generous drizzle of the Herb Lyceum’s lavender honey. The cheese and honey melted into the warm toasty bread. With a freshly brewed cup of coffee this was a creamy and satisfying breakfast treat.

For the second breakfast we were craving something heartier. We settled on a homemade version of the two-egg breakfast plate. I heated up oil in a non-stick skillet while I diced up some of the leftover roasted potatoes. I let them crisp in the pan for 10-15 minutes while prepared the eggs. In a second skillet I warmed up diced leftover heirloom tomatoes before pouring in a few lightly beaten eggs. Just before the eggs were cooked through I stirred in a heaping spoonful of ricotta. We enjoyed our crispy potatoes and creamy eggs with some more toasted Italian sesame bread. As you can tell from most of my posts - it’s not a meal without bread! We washed this all down with coffee and a glass of grapefruit juice.

For our third leftover breakfast we went gourmet! The remaining ingredient in the fridge was the ravioli filling – pureed red kuri squash mixed with a little fresh ricotta. When we had leftover mashed potatoes after making pierogies, I turned them into mashed potato cakes that we topped with poached eggs. If it worked with mashed potatoes, I figured that it would be equally delicious with pureed squash! I formed the squash into patties and then coated them with panko bread crumbs. I fried them in olive oil in a small skillet until they were golden brown on both sides and warmed through. To top the patties I added over easy eggs and a sprinkling of scallions to contrast the sweet squash flavor. The runny yolk contrasted with the crisp exterior of the squash patty for a luxurious breakfast!

The next time you are staring down a fridge full of leftovers, challenge yourself to create something new! Next up in the Local Luxury Dinner Party Leftovers Series: Lunch two ways!

Leftover Potato Hash browns
2 servings of cooked leftover garlic roasted potatoes, diced into half inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat oil in a small skillet over medium heat
Add potatoes and cook approximately 5-7 minutes, then flip and cook an additional 5-7 minutes until crispy and golden brown on both sides
Season with salt and pepper and serve hot

Red Kuri Squash Patties
Use ½ cup pureed squash for each patty
Coat each patty with panko bread crumbs
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat
Cook squash patties 3-5 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through
They may not stay together perfectly, but they will still taste delicious
Top with over easy or poached eggs
Garnish with scallions, or parsley (or any leftover herb in the fridge)

Cooking American Food: Wild Rice Salad

American food was the assignment. The party theme was all-American food and music. My first instinct was to pick up one of my state-themed cookbooks (Missouri, Montana, and Ohio) and pick out an all-American side dish. But when you start reading the recipes, you realize that almost all of the recipes were inspired by non-American cuisine and include many use non-native ingredients. In community cookbooks like these, the recipes included have been passed down through families and most originated in another part of the world.

I closed up the books and starting thinking about what foods are native to this part of the world and what I could put together in a summery side dish to please a big crowd. Since the party was on a weeknight the salad had to be travel friendly (an hour to work and an hour to the party with no refrigeration). And since I didn't know all of the guests I ruled out my favorite herb, cilantro and nuts in case of allergies.

After some thinking I came up with two ingredients - wild rice and cranberries. Wild rice is native to North America - it grows in the Great Lakes region. Cranberries are a product of Massachusetts, so they were an easy choice to throw in.

I perused the cookbook library and really couldn't find a good recipe for what I was looking to make. So I used my American can-do attitude and made up my own recipe!

My weekly trip to the farmers' market yielded a vibrant green bunch of flat-leaf parsley and purple scallions. A quick trip to the grocery store provided the rest of the ingredients - wild rice and celery. Thanks to some delicious free samples, provided to me by Oh!Nuts, I had a bag of dried cranberries in the pantry. The dressing for the salad was made out of ingredients from the fridge and the pantry. As a bonus - this is a very healthy dish! The only fat comes from the oil in the dressing and all the ingredients bring something nutritious to the mix.

The salad was pretty quick to make - while the rice is cooking you can finish all of the other components. It held up well during travel and was a big hit! I lightly dressed the salad the the before the party and put out extra dressing for guests if they wanted more flavor. I will be making this again soon! The wild rice is a great base for a variety ingredients - much like quinoa, barley, or kasha. Perfect for summer lunches and potlucks!

For a recap of all the American inspired dishes and songs, visit the gracious party host's blog Doves and Figs. I forgot to take a picture of the finished product - you'll have to visit Doves and Figs to see the completed salad. Great company, food, drinks, and song!

Summer Wild Rice Salad
Serves 10+ as a side dish

Rice Salad
2 8-ounce bags Quick-cooking Wild Rice (Lundberg Family Farms brand)
1.5 cups celery stalks, washed and diced
1.5 cups dried cranberries
1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
3-4 scallions, purple (or white) and green parts chopped

Dressing
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Zest from 1 orange
Juice from one orange
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

Cook rice according to the package instructions
Remove from the pot when finished and let cool completely
Toss veggies, herbs, and cranberries with the rice (I think using your hands mixes it best)

In a food processor, combine vinegar, honey, mustard, orange zest and juice
Blend, streaming in olive oil until well mixed and frothy

Pour about half the dressing over the rice mixture and toss well
Refrigerate overnight, or until ready to serve
Toss with additional dressing if desired
Garnish with fresh parsley leaves and enjoy!

Summary:
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes (rice)
Pot for rice, spoons, cutting board, knife, measuring cups, food processor, serving bowl and utensils

Daring Cooks May Challenge: Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada Bake

The hubby and I had just tried a new (and very delicious) locally owned Mexican restaurant over the weekend. I’m excited to have a source for great margaritas in the suburbs. Check out Viva Mexican Grill in Wayland if you are in the neighborhood. I enjoyed a delectable flank steak accompanied by a chicken enchilada with green chili sauce. The hubby had enchiladas with a trio of three different moles. When I came home to check out the May challenge, I was delighted that it gave me a chance to try making the enchiladas at home!

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Foodhave chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

I have been enjoying learning more about Mexican cuisine and cooking at home. I used the recipes provided in the challenge and made a tasty mess out of my kitchen!

When I went to buy the ingredients, my store only had four Anaheim chiles in stock (who knew they were so popular!). I evaluated the other options and decided to use poblano peppers for the other half of the chiles called for in the sauce. I picked up the rest of the ingredients that I didn’t have at home – tomatillos, onions, and 6-inch corn tortillas. Luckily I had frozen some of the homemade chicken stock from the risotto challenge, and I was able to use it for the sauce!

Once I got home and got organized, I fired up the burners under my cast iron grill pan to start roasting and grilling. I underestimated the time I needed to char those chiles and peppers on the grill pan. It probably would have been more efficient to pop them under the broiler, but I had committed myself to using the grill pan. After scraping, scraping, saying a few choice words, and scraping some more, I finally got the skins off the chiles and peppers. While I scraped, I also cooked/roasted the tomatillos on the grill pan.

Once those were pureed in the food processor and the chiles were chopped, everything went into the pot for the sauce. Instead of the oregano called for in the recipe, I substituted the epazote I recently purchased (see the KC Culinary post). It has a more lemony scent than regular oregano. At this point, the hubby was getting a little antsy so I put him to work grating some Monterey jack cheese for the dish. I grilled the chicken on the grill pan and prepared the tortillas for assembly.

After what seemed like hours (and much longer than expected), it was time to assemble. I used my 9x13 glass baking dish so I could see the layers. Into the oven it went and dinner was finally served. We love cilantro at our house, so we generously garnished before serving.

This was just as good (and more gratifying) than the enchilada I had at the restaurant. Next time I’d like to make it a little spicier, use all Anaheims chiles, and maybe use a traditional Mexican cheese.

For the enchilada recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/stacked-chicken-green-chile-enchiladas.aspx?nterms=50242,52390

Green Chili Sauce recipe:
http://www.finecooking.com/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=74368

Slow Braised Beef ... Easy, Flavorful, and Melt in Your Mouth Good

I've got a line up of about five posts, but tonight's dinner was so good I wanted to write it up right away!

A few weeks ago I was a lucky winner of some delicious pesto courtesy of one of my favorite food bloggers, Alicia at The Clean Plate Club Blog. Lauren from Pestos with Panache was nice enough to let me pick my choice of the tasty flavors to try. I've been really into spicy chocolate recently, so I chose the Decadent Dark Chocolate & Ancho Chili Pesto. According to their website:

"Decadent Dark Chocolate & Ancho Chile Pesto marries some of the New World’s flavors—70% dark chocolate, ancho chilies, clove and vanilla—with the Old World’s fresh basil Genovese pesto. Hovering in the background is just a touch of smoky cumin to form a truly complex flavor."

I wanted to make something interesting with the pesto and had been tossing ideas around for a week or two. I had decided to make a roast beef this weekend to use for lunches during the week. When I got home from the store with my chuck roast, I went to my cookbook shelf for inspiration. I found a recipe for a slow-braised lamb (or goat!) Jalisco-style in my Mexican Everyday (Rick Bayless) cookbook. What I love about this cookbook are the riffs that follow each recipe. Following this recipe was a riff called Northern Mexican Barbacoa - using a beef chuck roast and potatoes. I had bought a yucca, so I swapped that in for the potatoes.

This was the easiest roast I've ever made - thanks to using the pesto in place of the marinade. When the roast was done, it was so tender it just melted in your mouth. The yucca held up to the long slow braise and the leftover juice made a great sauce. Delicious!! This is getting added to the favorite recipe/cooking method list.

Good Cook Doris' Riff on Rick Bayless' Riff on Slow Braised Lamb (or Goat) Jalisco-Style
1 3-3.5 pound beef chuck roast, tied
2 tablespoons Decadent Dark Chocolate & Ancho Chili Pesto, thawed
1-3 medium yucca, peeled and sliced into 1 inch rounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Enough water to cover the yucca and about a quarter of the roast
An extra tablespoon of pesto for the sauce

I used my 5-quart slow cooker for this.

Cover the bottom of the slow cooker with the slice yucca
Sprinkle the salt over the yucca
Massage the pesto into the roast - making sure to cover all sides evenly
Place the roast on top of the yucca
Pour in enough water to cover the yucca and about a quarter of the roast
Turn on the slow cooker to the High - Six Hour setting
Go about your day!

The hubby is very proud of this aerial photo.

When the roast is done, take out very carefully (mine practically fell apart) and remove the string
Remove the yucca and put into a bowl
Carefully ladle out (or pour) liquid into a dish
I made my roast in advance, so I let it cool and then put in the fridge for tonight

To prepare the juice
Scrape off any fat that has gelled on the top of the juice
Pour the leftover liquid into a sauce pan and add the additional tablespoon of pesto
Bring to a boil
Cook for 10-15 minutes, until the juice has reduced and concentrated

Reheat the meat and yucca with some juice in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes
Serve, ladling more juice on top

Potluck in your plans? Head to the Pantry!

Tis the season for potlucks, picnics, and friendly spring get-togethers. Now that New England has thawed from winter, people are leaving the house again! If you find yourself invited to a potluck and have no idea what to make, here's an easy solution.

I had a Sunday afternoon lunch potluck on my calendar and knew exactly what dish I wanted to bring along. When I went the pantry to get the ingredients to make the pasta salad, turns out I had no pasta! No elbows, linguine, penne, nothing! Instead of running to the store I decided to get creative and work with what I had on hand.

With a few minutes and a few pantry staples I was able to pull together a tasty dish to bring along to a discerning group of diners - my sorority alumnae group (yay Gamma Phi Beta!). The dish had to be tasty, somewhat healthy, and good for sitting out for a little while. The dish got great feedback and I promised I would post the recipe on the blog. Without further delay, here is the recipe:

Quick and Easy Harvest Grain Salad

1 bag of Harvest Grains Blend from Trader Joe's (it has Israeli couscous, red and green orzo, split dried garbanzo beans, and red quinoa - it's in the rice aisle)
1 can of no salt added garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
About 1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Salt & Pepper
Dried or fresh herb blend (I used a premade mix with parsley, oregano, and basil)
Cook harvest grains according to the directions on the box
When done, immediately take out of the pot and put into a large serving bowl (or storage bowl) and fluff with a fork to separate the grains
Add the garbanzo beans, herbs (maybe 1-2 teaspoons) to the cous cous and mix with a spoon or spatula
Add about half the oil and vinegar
Mix well
Taste and add more herbs, oil/vinegar, and salt and pepper as needed
Chill and serve!

Summary:
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 15-20 minutes
Soup pot, fork, spoon, colander, measuring cups, serving bowl, serving spoon

Daring Cooks: Risotto Challenge

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Master Chef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

You can call me crazy, but I’ve added another thing to my ever-growing list of activities. Last month I joined the Daring Kitchen – a few of my blogger friends are members – as a way to challenge myself to try new recipes and techniques that I might overlook. Too my delight, my first official challenge is something that has been on my foodie to-do-list for quite some time. I present….RISOTTO!

Within the last few months, I’ve devoured some deliciously creamy and wonderful risottos at a few Boston area restaurants (and some arancini too). I was always wary of making it at home because I thought it was quite labor intensive and difficult. With this challenge I had no excuse not to try making risotto myself. The challenge called for two things: homemade stock and risotto using the stock. I knew I had a busy week, so I made the stock a few days ahead of the risotto.

I found a few chicken stock recipes online and one in my trusty Joy of Cooking book. I cooked, simmered, and strained my way to a flavorful homemade stock.

For the risotto I decided to branch out from the recipes given and find an ‘easy’ one to attempt. My first stop was my Google Reader blogs and I came up with a winning recipe in a post on We Are Not Martha. They posted a step-by-step account of a mushroom risotto recipe from http://foodiereflections.com/ that looked easy enough to execute.

I made a few tweaks of my own to the recipe. Being the only wine drinker in my house, I don’t always have a big selection on hand. When I went to the wine collection for a dry white, the only white to be found was a not so dry Riesling. I chose to use a semi-dry red wine that I had picked up in my home state (Missouri) during my last visit home. I was also having a stressful week, so I opted to mince all the mushrooms, onions, and garlic by hand to decompress (the recipe called for the food processor).

I used a large, wide bottomed Le Creuset Dutch oven and a wooden spoon for stirring (it seemed traditional!). While I did have to stay in the kitchen to stir for the whole time, I watched TV and cleaned up my mess while I cooked.

The result was an unbelievably smooth, rich, mushroomy dinner. I only wish that I had made a triple batch because there wasn’t much leftover for lunch the next day. I’m looking forward to adding risotto to my regular dinner rotation (so is the hubby). Here’s the recipe and the result! Looking forward to the next challenge!

Mushroom Risotto
Adapted from Foodie Reflections

Makes 4 side dish servings (Very true – I wish I had tripled the recipe!)
1 1/4 cups mushrooms, cleaned and divided
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup Arborio rice
2/3 cup dry wine (red or white)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 – 1 teaspoon fresh thyme, minced (plus a few springs for garnish)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, divided
Salt and pepper to taste

Finely chop 3/4 cup of the mushrooms (or puree in the food processor until finely chopped)
Thinly slice the remaining 1/2 cup mushrooms and set aside for later
Heat the stock in a pot over medium heat. Once it reaches a simmer decrease the heat to low and cover to hold warm
In a large wide pan (I used my giant Le Creuset Dutch oven), heat the olive oil over medium heat
Add the minced onions and cook, stirring until the onions become soft and translucent, about 5 minutes
Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then add the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, then mix in the Arborio rice and cook for 1 minute.
Pour in the wine and stir until the wine has been absorbed by the rice.
Add one ladle of broth, about 1/2 cup, and stir every 30 seconds to 1 minute until all the broth has been absorbed
Continue this process until all the broth has been absorbed and a grain of rice pressed between two fingers separates into three pieces (for me, about a half an hour)
Stir in the Parmesan cheese, thyme and 1/2 tablespoon butter
Season to taste with salt and pepper

In a small-medium skillet melt the remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat
Add the mushrooms and sauté until the edges become lightly browned
Season with a pinch of salt and pepper
To serve, spoon the risotto in a large serving bowl or onto individual plates
Garnish with the sautéed mushrooms and a few thyme sprigs

Summary for risotto:
Prep Time: 15-20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes, approximately
Large wide pan, skillet, stock pan, cutting board and knife (food processor), measuring cups, ladle, spoon, serving utensils and dishes

Grass-Fed Beef Chili

One of the benefits of going to the farmers' market is being able to purchase locally raised meats. Not only do you support your local farmers, you also know how the meat was raised. I haven't seen Food Inc. yet, but a friend recently did and gave me his take on how he is changing his meat consumption patterns as a result. In addition to reducing the amount of red meat in his diet, he decided to stop eating beef unless it is grass-fed and hopes that everyone else follows suit (in time). The challenge in doing that is the availability of products to meet the demand. Hopefully we'll move toward a change in the beef industry to increase the supply and availability.

Have you seen Food Inc.? Have you changed your eating habits as a result of the movie or to be more environmentally concious? I'd love to hear about it - please leave a comment!

During our last trip to the market, we picked up some grass-fed ground beef from Springdell Farms. Visit their website to read about how they treat their Black Angus cattle. It comes through in the texture and taste of the meat. A good tip that they gave us for cooking was to make sure not to overcook the beef. The beef we bought that day was extra lean (and grass-fed beef can be overcooked easily).

Veggie chili is a frequent menu item at our house. With the meat in the fridge, I decided to make a beef chili for a hearty meal for the New England February climate. We had this for Super Bowl Sunday topped with guacamole and fresh grated Colby-jack cheese. I chopped up the usual suspects - jalapeno, red bell pepper, and yellow onion and then got to work!

For the liquid, I used some leftover chunky veggie tomato sauce we had in the refrigerator. I also used the spices in my spice rack - dried cilantro, ground cumin, and chili powder. You can use any color beans you have in the pantry and throw in any other veggies you might have on hand. It's a great meal to use up any ingredients leftover from other meals.

Instead of the quick 20-minute chili that I usually make, this is a slow-cooking chili that simmered for 2-3 hours before the big game. The addition of cornmeal creates a rich (a little 'creamy'), flavorful, and satisfying result! The leftovers made tasty lunches throughout the next week.

Game Day Grass-Fed Beef Chili
Makes about 6 servings
1 pound ground beef
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
1-2 medium yellow onions, diced
1 can kidney beans, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1/2 a jar tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tablespoon dried cilantro
Salt and Pepper
2 tablespoons cornmeal
Olive oil
Shredded Colby-jack cheese and guacamole to top it off

Heat a medium stock-pot over medium-high heat (a 6 on my range)
Add a small amount of oil to the pan
Add beef, garlic, onions, jalapeno, and pepper and cook until just browned, stirring the beef and breaking it up as it cooks
Drain and excess fat from the pan and return to the heat
Add in beans, sauce, spices, and salt and pepper, stir
Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 2+ hours, stirring occasionally
Top with cheese and guacamole and serve with cornbread or tortilla chips

Haiku from the Hubby:
Grass fed and so lean
Chili with spice and on top
Mmmmm Guacamole

Snow Outside, Hearty Pot Roast and Biscuits Inside

With temperatures in the twenties and the snow ready to fly, it was the perfect weekend for comfort food. I've been making a lot of brisket and short-ribs over the past year and wanted to try something different. I fought off a few crazy women at the grocery store and brought home a nice beef chuck boneless eye round. Out came the slow-cooker, the meat could roast while I got to work on some cheddar-scallion biscuits and latkes.

In the spirit of holiday creativity, I made up my own pot roast recipe. I checked an old Cooking Light slow-cooked pot roast recipe for cooking tips and then opened the fridge to pull out the ingredients. For the roasting liquid, I had a bottle of unused Castle Rock Pinot Noir (no red drinkers at my Thanksgiving feast). We had enough for dinner, and two lunches each (6-8 servings, depending on how hungry you are).

For the side dishes, I cooked up three options. First, cheddar-scallion biscuits. Second, traditional potato and onion latkes. Third, sweet potato and scallion latkes. All delicious, and all great with the pot roast! I'll write up the latkes tomorrow. For this post I'll focus on the pot roast and biscuits.

The biscuits were inspired by a post at Playing House but made following a recipe from TracyFood. The biscuits were unbelievable. Buttery, flaky, cheesy, scallion-y, mmm.... The only change I would make next time is to add a little less salt. For my biscuits I used a cheddar-jack cheese mix. Visit TracyFood for the full recipe! Now on the meat...

Snowy Weekend Pot Roast
1 3-ish lb. beef chuck boneless eye round, tied together
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
1 lb. parsnips, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2-3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup Pinot Noir (or other red wine)
1 cup reduced sodium beef broth
2 bay Turkish leafs
Kosher salt and pepper (I forgot to measure)
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1-1.5 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon sage

Set up your slow-cooker
Heat the oil over medium-high heat in a medium sauce pan (big enough to pour in your liquid and veggies)
Rub salt and pepper on all sides of the roast
Sear meat in pan, approximately 2 minutes per side
Remove meat from the pan and put into the slow cooker
Add a little more oil to the pan, and then add in onions
Cook for about 8 minutes, until they are just beginning to brown
Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute
Pour in wine and beef broth, scraping up any bits on the bottom of the pan
Stir in sage and thyme
Carefully pour the liquid over the roast in the slow cooker
Put the carrots, parsnips and potatoes around the meat
Put in the two bay leafs and sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours
Reduce heat to low and cook for an additional 3-4 hours, until tender

The biscuits on the side were fabulous! I'll let you check out TracyFood for the recipe, but will share my mouth-watering photos below.

Hearty Vegetable Tomato Sauce and Meatballs

We were at a housewarming party recently and were talking with some friends about easy weeknight dinners and recipes that we make a lot. They had some great ideas - Greek inspired tacos, avocado boats - but one idea had me thinking about it the whole way home. Good old spaghetti and meatballs. It is such a comfort food. With our recent trend toward recipes good for leftovers, this definitely filled the bill. And since the slowcooker is still on the counter, I decided to to put it to work again.

Instead of a boring tomato, garlic, and basil sauce, I wanted to make something that packed a nice veggie punch. A trip to the store yielded some nice nutritionally rich ingredients.

Before throwing everything into the pot, the ingredients got a little pre-cooking. First in the saute pan - diced baby bella mushrooms. Next the onions and carrots. Finally, minced garlic and spinach.

After the veggies were sweated and softened it was time to go in the slowcooker. I used a few cans of diced tomatoes with no salt added. I'm not a fan of the off-season tomatoes at the grocery store, the canned tomatoes are a tastier option. The sauce got off to a simmer and then it was time to get to work on the meatballs.

My grandmother makes a mean meatball - so I stick with her method when making mine. They get thrown into the sauce and soak up the flavors of the sauce.

Hearty Veggie Tomato Sauce and Meatballs
Sauce:
1 bag of spinach leaves
1 medium yellow onion, diced
About 1 cup carrots, diced
1-2 cups mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added) - Drained
2 cans diced tomatoes (no salt added) - Not drained
1-2 tablespoons tomato paste
Handful of fresh basil leaves
Salt and Pepper

Turn on the slow cooker to the highest setting (mine is 4 hours - high)
Add tomatoes
Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium heat
Add chopped mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes, then add to slowcooker
Add more oil if necessary, and then saute onions and carrots for about 5 minutes, then add to slowcooker
Cook the minced garlic for a minute, then add spinach to the pan, cooking until just wilted
Add spinach to the slowcooker
Cover with lid and let simmer

Meatballs
1 pound ground sirloin
About a cup of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
Salt and Pepper

Mix all ingredients by hand until just combined - do not over mix
Form into 1 inch balls
Add to sauce
When last meatball has been added to the sauce, cook for 1.5 - 2 hours until cooked through

I left the sauce chunky - but if you wanted a smoother consistency you could use an immersion blender to blend it. For the first night, we had the sauce and meatballs the traditional way - over whole wheat spaghetti noodles. On the side - whole wheat garlic bread.

For the second night, I planned to make meatball subs with the rest of the whole wheat bread. What I didn't realize is that the hubby had packed all the remaining meatballs for my lunch that day. So we had delicious veggie sauce subs with melted provolone cheese. Still hearty and tasty - just missing a little protein.

Anyway you want to serve it - this is a great way to add some veggies to your diet and have a great comforting meal!

Stay tuned for some more fall favorites like beef stew and roasted root vegetables. Leave a note about your favorite hearty dish or favorite comfort food!

Slow Cooked Goodness

When we got married (four years ago already!), I (we) registered for all the fun kitchen gadgets and appliances that are absolutely necessary for cooking. I use a lot of dishes, plates, and utensils in the kitchen but don't always use the fancy electrics that we own. No more! I've pulled out the slow-cooker and decided to put it to work.

My first thought about using the slow-cooker was that most recipes call for 6-8 hour cooking times. I'm often gone for 10-12 hours during the day, so this doesn't really work out very well. Then it dawned on me - I could cook while we sleep. I can prep the food after dinner and homework and then turn on the slow-cooker overnight. So I searched Epicurious for a slow-cooker brisket recipe and got to work!

This recipe is definitely a keeper. There were a few things I didn't think about before cooking. 1 - All night we dreamed of brisket. The smell of roasting onions permeated the house. 2 - The slow cooker lid doesn't seal perfectly and we woke up to a stream of brisket sauce down the counter. Besides that - it was great!

Here's the ingredient list for the sauce (my first time using the iPhone in the kitchen - a little messy). You can find the full recipe at the Epicurious website:

The recipe did involve a little prep work - not strictly a dump and cook recipe. First is browning the onions. Second is searing the brisket to get a nice brown crust. Then, cut potatoes into 1/4 inch slices and line the bottom of the slow-cooker. Next time I will halve the number of potatoes as they took up too much room. Then I followed the recipe and put the slow cooker to work while we slept. The brisket was fall apart tender, the potatoes had a great meaty flavor, and the veggies cooked down into a tasty sauce. For two of us we had enough for a few days of lunches and dinners. Stay tuned for more slow-cooker treats!

Easy Weeknight Entertaining - Build Your own Tacos

Two weeks ago the hubby invited over one of his coworkers and his family over for dinner. My brother happened to be in town on business so we invited him over too. Making a weeknight dinner for guests can be very stressful if you don't plan properly. Our guests were scheduled to arrive about 45 minutes after we normally get home from work. I knew we needed a quick cooking meal that would please a number of different tastes (the group included a 7-year old).

One of our favorite meals is tacos - there are so many variations and it's great for leftovers. I decided to go with a build-your-own taco bar so everyone could make them exactly how they liked them. I picked up some hard and soft taco shells (it's all about choice!), ground turkey, and an assortment of taco fixings. I won't bore you with store-bought details. I'll just focus on the homemade fixings: tomatillo guacamole and black beans with corn and tomatoes.

Tomatillo Guacamole

This is a condiment that I make a lot - it's quick, easy, and always gets rave reviews! For this version I used a combination of farmers' market finds and grocery store produce (no avocados at the markets here). One of my favorite farmers' market finds from last year is ground cherries (a.k.a. strawberry tomatoes). They look like baby tomatillos and have a sweet almost pineapple-y taste. I decided to add these in to the guacamole along with the tomatillos, serrano chili, lime juice, onion, and avocado. I used raw tomatillos, this would also very good with roasted tomatillos. This was more than enough for dinner and a few more meals. It keeps longer than a regular guacamole because of the lime juice and other ingredients. Make sure to press plastic wrap directly on top of the guacamole and then seal it in an airtight container (i.e. gladware, tupperware)

*Note: I usually add fresh cilantro when making this at home. After an informal poll of friends, I've learned that not everyone could eat cilantro on everything like me. Not knowing if our guests would love it or think it tasted like soap, I decided to leave it out.

4-5 raw tomatillos, husks removed and washed
A handful of ground cherries, husks removed and washed
Serrano chili (to taste)
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 of a white onion

Cut the tomatillos into quarters
If you have a large enough food processor, put all of the ingredients in and pulse until just smooth (if not, work in batches)
Season with salt and pepper

Black Beans and Corn

This tasted much better than the photo I took! I picked up some locally grown sweet corn and really wanted to use it for dinner. To make a hearty side dish, I pulled together canned black beans, the fresh corn, some canned diced tomatoes, garlic and spices. This was delicious served warm and even more delicious cold for lunch the next day and as a quesadilla filling for the next night's dinner.

2 cans black beans, drained
1 can petite diced tomatoes (no salt added) with about half the liquid drained off
3 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off from the cob
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
Cumin and chili powder
Salt

Heat oil over medium heat in a stockpot
Add in garlic and saute until soft (don't burn!)
Add corn and cook for about 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently
Add in beans and tomatoes and bring to a bubble
Reduce heat to low, stir in cumin and chili powder
Let simmer until time to serve

Other Taco Bar Ingredients
Hard taco shells
Small flour tortillas
Shredded Mexican cheese blend
Salsa (store bought tomato salsa)
Black olives
Yellow rice (Goya)
Sour cream

Happy eating!