Mexican Pizza

Recipe 30 - March 27th, 2012

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Mexican Pizza

This recipe comes from Food & Wine, July 2010

Chef: Spike Mendolsohn

This recipe is relatively quick and easy and delicious!  Great variation on pizza.  Used a store bought dough, but will try homemade dough next time.  You can spice it up as much as you like.  

Creamy Risotto with Edamame

Recipe 29 - March 26th, 2012

Fizzle...

Creamy Risotto with Edamame

This recipe comes from Food & Wine, April 2007

Chef: Isabelle Smith

Unfortunately, the Laughing Cow cheese gave this dish a weird, bitter aftertaste.  The lager beer is an interesting addition.  It may have something to do with the weird taste as well?  

Dave's Mom's Spinach-Feta Pie

Recipe 28 - March 24th, 2012

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Dave's Mom's Spinach-Feta Pie

This recipe comes from Food & Wine, September 2006
Chef: Alhadeef

This was a tasty, pretty quick recipe.  It tasted good reheated as well.  It should be served as a side as the portions are small for a single serving.  I love that Food & Wine has recipes online from their 2006 issues, this is so helpful!  

Snap Pea Minestrone with Poached Eggs

Recipe 27 - March 21st, 2012

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Snap Pea Minestrone with Poached Eggs

This recipe comes from Sunset, March 2012

I made this recipe without the ham (don't tell Erik), it was still very good and didn't need too much additional salt.  It was good to learn a new technique for poaching eggs.  Used leftover ditalini pasta from a past recipe.  The serving sizes were plenty and the cooking times accurate.  

St. Patrick's Day Feast

Recipe 26 - March 17th, 2012

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St. Patrick's Day Feast

Last minute we decided on St. Patrick's Day to invite KB and J dble H over for dinner.  I bought the corned beef ready to boil and threw in the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes at the end.  Organic strawberries are in season, so I used up the last of my frozen rhubarb and made a strawberry rhubarb crisp.  Yum!

Tea-Scented Pumpkin Soup

Recipe 25 - March 15th, 2012

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Tea-Scented Pumpkin Soup

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, October 2006

Chef: Han Feng

Full disclosure, I used a Long Island Cheese squash and sesame oil drizzle in this recipe in place of the pumpkin and pumpkin seed oil.  Pumpkin seed oil has to be special ordered in this part of the country.  And I wanted to continue using the rest of the squash we have left over from the CSA.  This recipe was delicious as I made it!  It's probably just as if not more delicious with the correct ingredients.  It was pretty hands-off once the squash/pumpkin was cut up and easy to prepare.  The serving sizes were filling.  It's a light broth soup, not very thick with lots of subtle flavors despite the minimal number of ingredients.   

Beet-and-Goat Cheese "Ravioli"

Recipe 24 - March 14th, 2012

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Beet-and-Goat Cheese "Ravioli"

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, October 2006

Chef: Han Feng

Boiling the beets for the full hour made them just the right texture and softness.  This is a very easy recipe and very nice.  We had it as our main dish, although I would serve it in the future as a side salad.  It tastes nice with crackers.  The servings were a good size.  It was quick to put together once the beets were cooked and peeled.  

Squash Stuffed with Quinoa and Wild Mushrooms

Recipe 23 - March 10th, 2012

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Squash Stuffed with Quinoa and Wild Mushrooms

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, November 2011

Chef: Kevin Kathman

I used two gold nugget squash from our CSA for the squash.  It added great color.  Mine doesn't quite look like the picture in the magazine, but still is an attractive dish.  It takes a while to prepare and at one point I had the timer on the microwave, stove, and my cell phone timing the squash, quinoa, and mushrooms as they cooked separately.  The cream, sugars, and maple syrup add a sweet note to the savory squash, quinoa, and mushrooms.  Together all the tastes are very nice.  We had it as a main dish alone and the serving size was filling.  The leftovers are quite nice warmed up too.      

Old Mac

Recipe 22 - March 4th, 2012

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Old Mac

This recipe comes from the Le Bistro Montage, Portland, Oregon 

This is the recipe for grown-up macaroni and cheese from one of my favorite restaurants in Portland, Oregon, Le Bistro Montage under the Morrison bridge on the non-city side of the river.  It's easy and quick and very tasty!  I like to add cayenne and or 505 green chili to make spice it up.  The recipe for their super spicy mac and cheese is listed in the link as well.  The leftovers freeze well and can be heated up with a small amount of milk or cream.  Delicious!

Minny's Chocolate Pie

Recipe 21 - March 4th, 2012

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Minny's Chocolate Pie

This recipe comes from Food and Wine, August 2011

Chef: Lee Ann Flemming

This is a recipe for Minny's chocolate pie from the book (and movie), The Help.  Minus the secret ingredient!!  It is amazing!!  I made it for our book group and they gobbled it up!  It's quick and easy and delicious.  

Strawberries with Blood Oranges and Balsamic Creme Fraiche

Recipe 21 - March 4th, 2012

Fizzle/Success.

Strawberries with Blood Oranges and Balsamic Creme Fraiche

This recipe comes from the packaging on the Bellwether Farms Creme Fraiche

The strawberries and blood oranges combined are wonderful!  The balsamic reduction is very tricky.  I made it and put it in the refrigerator as the recipe allows and it solidified.  I ended putting the creme fraiche and drizzling balsamic on top of the solidified balsamic reduction.  It tasted very nice!  The reduction eventually started to loosen and mix in.  Overall it was a success, but my preparation was a fizzle.  Need to practice my reduction technique.  

Tempura Tofu and Spring Vegetables

Recipe 20 - March 3rd, 2012

Fizzle.

Tempura Tofu and Spring Vegetables

This recipe comes from Cooking Light, April 2010

This did not fry up right and the batter wasn't anything special in our opinion.  We used tofu, carrots, beans, and asparagus.  Will keep looking for more tempura batter and sauce recipes because I would love to learn how to make it correctly.  Definitely some technique and skills that I don't have.  

Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Salad

Recipe 19 - March 1st, 2012

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Spicy Chipotle Shrimp Salad

This recipe comes from Cooking Light, July 2010

Yum!  This was a really nice salad with a little kick thanks to the chipotle!  It will be great to have during the summer fresh off the grill.  It has a nice cold salad, light taste.  The portions were good and the cooking time is perfect.  It is also super easy and quick to prepare!