Pizza and Salad

 

One of my New Year’s resolutions was to try more recipes.  All too often last year 6:00 arrived and we had no clue what was for dinner.  Cluster Truck, a trip down the street to Murphy’s at Flynns, grilled cheese…  Time to change.  I created a spreadsheet to track our progress.  Name of the recipe.  Where to find it.  (Not as easy as it sounds with 2500 cookbooks and thousands of saved recipes either in print or electronic version.)  Where have I posted it – blog, biz website?  How did we rate it?  The great news is since December 17, 2022 we’ve tried 18 new recipes.  Eighteen.  That’s kind of a lot.  Average rating of 3.8 on a scale of 1-5.  Actually I’m pretty certain we’ve never had a “1.”  I’ve thrown away some 2’s that I probably should’ve labelled a one.  But I didn’t.  Out of the 18 we had three 2’s.  Two were just incredibly blah.  And one was salty.  Kinda like licking a salt block salty.  That I threw away and it should’ve been a one.  We had three three’s and seven four’s and five five’s.  Not a bad distribution of scores! 

By the weekend I was down to three recipes on the to-try list. Time to hunt in the freezer and figure out what I want to use up over the next week.  Chicken thighs, ground pork, sweet Italian sausage, cod, shrimp and a container of rice from a run to Golden Dragon were all in the freezer.  Some smallish potatoes and some naan bread were hanging out in the kitchen.

Next up, hunting for recipes for all of the goodies.  I love eatyourbooks.com.  And, I’ve usually got a stash of recipes to try on my desktop.  And, then there are the cookbooks I’m in the midst of reading.  A plethora of choices!

Naan bread makes some of my all-time favorite pizzas.  Without the dough-making effort.  On to eatyourbooks.com where I kept seeing references to the Emily Cookbook. Pizza with sausage plus a salad of broccoli, orange and feta would be one evening. 

Cod Florentine with a roasted potato salad on the side would be another.  Then, bacon, egg and shrimp fried rice would use up a bunch of things.  A recipe for chicken and wild rice in a cream sauce would be great with a side of carrots.  And, last but not least lettuce wraps with the ground pork would be wonderful with a side salad of shaved zucchini and radishes.  Connie headed to the grocery for the few items we needed and we were ready to start cooking! 

I’ve been a big fan of broccoli salad ever since my friends Helen and Bob took me to a cute little diner out in the middle of nowhere.  Their broccoli salad was very finely diced.  No horsey sized pieces of broccoli.  Just a lovely mix that meant you got some of everything in every bite.  I feel the same way about vegetable soup where I like all the veggies cut to about the size of a pea or a kernel of corn.  Lots of goodness in every bite!  This broccoli salad came from Taste of the South.  I get the magazine on Readly and love it along with their sister publication that showcases New Orleans. 

We skipped the tomatoes and used Rao’s pizza sauce.  Just like their marinaras I rarely buy any other brand.  It’s just plain the best I’ve had.  We didn’t have cheddar cheese curds but I did have a lovely wedge of white cheddar that would be a good substitute.  Time to cook!

What did we think?  A solid five out of five for both of them.  I think I could’ve just sat down with the bowl of broccoli salad and polished that off for dinner.  It was amazing.  Despite a lot of substitutions the pizza also was a solid five.

Broccoli Orange Feta Salad

Serves 10

Ingredients:

½ c olive oil

¼ c sugar

3 T Dijon

2 T apple cider vinegar

2 T fresh orange juice

2 t kosher salt

½ t ground black pepper

8 c chopped broccoli (about 2 large heads)

2 large navel oranges, sectioned

1 c diced red onion

1 c crumbled feta cheese

½ c sunflower seeds

½ c golden raisins

 

Directions:

Make the dressing first with the first seven ingredients.  Toss together the other ingredients and the dressing.  Chill for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend. 

 

Adapted from Taste of the South

 

The Camp Randall Pizza 

Ingredients:

2 large naan breads

½ lb sweet Italian sausage, crumbled, browned and drained

½ c Rao’s pizza sauce (the recipe calls for crushed tomatoes)

¼ c grated pecorino Romano (we used Asiago)

10-12 cheddar cheese curds, cut in half (we used ¼” white cheddar cheese cubes)

12 thin slices green bell pepper (I used ½ of a bell pepper)

6 cremini mushrooms, very thinly sliced

 

Directions:

Spread ¼ c of pizza sauce on each naan bread.  

Top that with the sausage and Asiago or Romano.  Then sprinkle on the bell pepper, mushrooms and cheddar curds or cheese cubes.  

Bake at 500 until the toppings are bubbling, about 5-10 minutes. 

 adapted from The Emily Cookbook

 

 

 

 

Watermelon, Queso Fresco and Mint Salad

 

This salad is SO refreshing.  I used a melon baller since not only is it easier than trying to get the watermelon out of the rind, it also looks pretty.  The recipe didn’t specify the size of the cubes so I made both the jicama and queso fresco cubes about ¼” max.  The recipe also said to mix the dressing separately.   I didn’t do that.  And, I added the watermelon juice to the whole mix.  Then, at the table we added some Penzey’s Pico and Salsa salt-free seasoning.  That was to make up for the lack of salt in the dish.  Thanks to our low-salt diet!

 

 

Ingredients

8 c cubed watermelon

1 c peeled and cubed jicama

¼ c coarsely chopped fresh cilantro

¼ c chiffonade of basil

1 T freshly grated lime zest

1 T chopped fresh chives

1 T sliced scallions, white and pale green parts

1 jalapeno chile, seeded, deveined and minced

3 T extra virgin olive oil

2 T freshly squeezed lime juice

1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper

½ c crumbled queso fresco

1 T chopped fresh mint

Directions

Mix well. Serve chilled.

 

Adapted from Casa Marcela

Palomino's Portabella Mushroom Soup and Chop Chop Salad with Garlic Bread

BC used to be Before Connie in our home.  Now it's also Before Covid.  Before our lives got upended.  We had season tickets to six different theatres in Indy and Carmel.  Had being the operative word.  When we went to IRT - which is Indiana Repertory Theatre - we stopped at Palomino's for dinner.  We ate in the bar and always had their Portobello mushroom soup and their Chop Chop Salad.  Now, not only are we not going to the theatre but Palomino is closed.  Permanently.  Makes me sad every time I walk by.  And, I really missed that soup and salad.  

Now, as luck would have it, for many years WTHR and Marsh put out an annual cookbook at Christmas.  It's a long story, but thanks to my friend, Lisa, I own all the copies.  Ok, the short version.  I was missing one year.  Lisa's wonderful mom died.  She came into town to clean out her condo.  All her friends were invited to come over and say hi.  Of course we did.  She tells me I must take something.  Wound up taking a bowl and a pitcher.  Navy blue with sunflowers.  That bowl is my FAVORITE bowl.  I love it!  And, best of all, I think of Lisa and Jan when I use it.  So, I asked about cookbooks.  Connie rolled his eyes.  I have plenty.  Jan had about a dozen cookbooks.  And, there it was, the missing WTHR/Marsh cookbook.  It too has become one of my favorites.  

Back to Palomino.  One of the recipes in the 2008 cookbook is their Chop Chop Salad.  I made it in 2008 and hadn't made it since.  On to the internet for the soup recipe.  SCORE!  It's on Epicurious.  But, they always served bread with our soup and salad.  Ina Garten's new cookbook has an outrageous garlic bread recipe that had my name written all over it.  Good to go.  

There's a lot of chopping and a lot of steps here for all three recipes.  It's not a 20 minute meal.  Not by a long shot.  But, it's worth all the time you put into it!  We gave the soup and the garlic bread a five and the salad a four.  But, it was almost a five!  Now, keep in mind that Connie is NOT fond of soup.  And, he loves this!

Palomino Portobello Mushroom Soup

Ingredients:

2/3 c unsalted butter

8 oz leeks, white and green, cross sliced at 1/4"

8 oz yellow, onion, diced

8 oz portobello mushroom caps, chopped (I used three big shitakes)

12 oz cremini mushrooms, chopped

5 oz AP flour (I used 1/4 c)

6 oz chicken stock

2 oz dry sherry

1 qt heavy cream

1/4 t cayenne pepper

1/4 oz kosher salt

 

Directions

Melt half of the butter in a stock pot or dutch oven.  Add the leeks and onions and cook for about five minutes or until the onions are translucent

Add the chopped mushrooms and cook for about 5-10 minutes or until they're tender

Add the cream, sherry, cayenne and salt and let it simmer

While you're cooking the mushroom mixture, melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan.  Add the flour and cook it for a few minutes.  Whisk in the chicken stock slowly.  Then, let that simmer for half an hour.  

Take about a quarter of a cup of the warm cream from the mushroom mixture and stir it slowly into the roux.  Then, add another and another until you have a cream sauce that can be poured into the mushroom mixture.  

Let the soup simmer for 15 minutes.  You can serve it topped with some more sherry.  

adapted from Epicurious

Palomino Chop-Chop Salad

Ingredients:

Balsamic Vinegar Dressing

2 egg yolks

2 c extra virgin olive oil

3/4 c balsamic vinegar

3 cloves finely mince garlic (I used roasted garlic)

3/4 t kosher salt

1/4 t freshly ground black pepper

Salad

3 c julienned romaine greens

1 T julienned fresh basil

2 T provolone cheese, cut into 1/4" cubes

3 T grated Parmesan plus more for serving

1 T garbanzo beans

2 T julienned wine salami (I used genoa)

1/4 c julienned smoked turkey breast (I used turkey deli meat)

2 oz diced tomato

ground black pepper

Directions:  

Palomino tosses this and serves it that way.  I did mine like a cobb salad, then tossed it once it got to the table.  To make the dressing, you whip the egg yolks then slowly drizzle in the olive oil followed by the vinegar.  Then, mix in the garlic and the salt and  pepper.  This will make dressing for about six of the salads.

adapted from The Sunrise Cookbook, 2008

Outrageous Garlic Bread

Ingredients

12 T unsalted butter

1 head garlic, cloves separated and peeled (I'd roasted garlic so I just squeezed the cloves out of one of the heads)

1 c freshly grated Parmesan

2 T minced fresh parsley

2 t lemon zest

1/4 t crushed red pepper flakes

kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 20-24" long crusty baguette (I used an Italian loaf)

fleur de sel or sea salt

Directions:

You'll need to bake this at 450 so preheat your oven

You can handle the garlic one of two ways.  Ina calls for melting the butter and slowly cooking the cloves for 20 minutes.  I slice the top off a head of garlic, drizzled it with olive oil, put it in an ovenproof dish and baked it for an hour at 300.  Then, once the butter was melted,  I just squeezed the head of garlic and all the cloves popped out, nicely roasted.  At that point I added the parmesan, parsley, zest, pepper flakes and salt and pepper and let it simmer for about 10 minutes,

Next, you prep your bread.  Cut it in half lengthwise.  Put the halves on a half sheet or in a 9x13 pan.  Something to catch the drips of butter.  Because there will be drips of butter!  Then, score the bread into serving pieces but don't cut all the way through the loaf.

Slather the bread with the butter mixture.  Bake it for 5-7 minutes.  You want the top to be bubbling and a little brown.  

adapted from Modern Comfort Food by Ina Garten

 

Guido Dressing, Eggplant Croutons and Persimmon Mojitos

Sometimes I find a recipe that replaces an old favorite.  More often than not, though, I make a different version and really wish I'd made the old favorite.  So, it's always a tough call.  Do I try for the BBD (bigger, better deal) or do I stick with old faithful.  When it comes to a basic vinaigrette I've always done the red wine vinegar, tarragon, sugar, Dijon mustard and extra virgin olive oil one.  But, recently I've been experimenting.  First it was a vinaigrette with maple syrup.  Then, one with cumin.  And, then another with sherry vinegar.  Now, I'm pretty well convinced that my favorite vinaigrette is EVOO, sherry vinegar, cumin, maple syrup and Dijon.  And, ya know what?  One of my favorite sister-in-law is named Sherry.  And, she goes by Guido.  So, this is Guido Dressing.  And, BTW, I have six sisters-in-law.  They're all my favorites so don't even THINK I'd play favorites here.  But, I will say that Guido and Ken are amazing cooks.

Now, the next thing I've found is eggplant croutons.  I was feeling pretty darned smart to have thought them up.  Then, after serving the salad tonight, just for grins and giggles I looked them up on the internet.  Yup, a whole herd of recipes for eggplant croutons.  Oh, well.  

I failed miserably on the photo front here.  I was down to my last eggplant crouton and said, "OOPS."  So, you'll just have to visualize here...  And, no, I didn't measure for the dressing.  So, taste it and make sure it meets your taste.

Salad with Eggplant Croutons and Guido Dressing

Ingredients:
Serves two

spring mix
1 large leaf Swiss chard
2 oz. semi-hard cheese - we used a Tomme but Swiss or Gruyere would be just fine
2 small beets
1 chicken thigh
1/2 small eggplant
milk
1 egg
panko
Creole seasoning


Guido Dressing
1 T maple syrup
1/2 t cumin
1 t Dijon mustard
3 T sherry vinegar
3 T EVOO

Directions:
Put a handful of spring mix in each bowl.  Dice the chard leaves and the stems separately.  Toss the leaves on top of the spring mix.  Dice the cheese and toss it on the greens.

Pan saute the chicken in a small amount of olive oil.  Just as the chicken is done, toss the chard stems into the pan and let them soften a bit.  While the chicken is cooking, make the eggplant croutons.  Peel and dice the eggplant into about 1/2" pieces.  Toss them first in a milk and egg mixture.  Then, into some panko with a bit of Creole seasoning tossed in.  We make our own Emeril's Seasoning.  Brown them well in olive oil.  I put enough in the pan to have it about 1/8" deep then turn the croutons regularly until they're nice and brown and crispy.  

Cook the beets while you've got everything else going on.  My beets were really small with very thin skins so I just cut off the tops and bottoms and popped them into a bowl with a bit of water and nuked them.  Once they'd cooled a bit, I chopped them up and tossed them on the salad.  

Once the chicken is done, shred the meat and put it on the salad.  Top with the dressing and then the chard stems followed by the eggplant croutons.  

While we were cooking we enjoyed a cocktail.  It's about the fifth time we've made this particular cocktail.  Connie actually processed the last couple persimmons and popped the pulp into the freezer so we can have some more soon! 

And, I can't post this without telling a great story.  We went to a new place for dinner the other night.  I ordered a cocktail with bourbon and toasted marshmallow syrup.  Connie ordered one that was their take on the Mai Tai.  It had  a HUGE sprig of mint.  He took it out and wrapped it up and I tucked it carefully into my purse.  It went into the fridge and is happily helping us make cocktails!

Here's what he had to say:

Loosely borrowed from KANGARHUBARB at food52.com

Being from Boston, I wouldn’t know a persimmon from a lychee.  However, in Indiana, this is a display of total ignorance.   Persimmons are adored and persimmon pudding is ambrosia, the food of the gods.  Kate proved this by taking it to my cousins’ Thanksgiving feast a number of years ago.  What is this, they asked?  It didn’t matter.  They gobbled every last bit.

The persimmons came from a tree we planted at our prior house.  The tree is still there but the persimmons are no longer ours.  Alas, but we have planted another, and in 10 years or so, we will have our own persimmons again, unless the stupid squirrels eat them all before they fall to the ground. 

Undaunted, Kate bought some Fuyu persimmons at Costco and tried to make the best of it.  It was not the same.  Okay, but not great.  Trying to salvage the persimmons, we turned to cocktails.  This actually worked out very well, but we didn’t follow the prescribed process, so I’ll give you our take on persimmon syrup and a persimmon mojito.

They tell you to make a persimmon syrup, which involves boiling water, sugar and persimmons.  

Instead take a Fuyu persimmon, remove the stem, quarter it, add 4 oz of sugar and pulse it in a bullet or mixer.  Now you have persimmon syrup.

And, at least I did get a photo of the drink.  Lousy photo, but something to post!

Persimmon Mojito (for two)

Mint leaves (it’s December, I found enough off my plants to satisfy, do your best)

Lime zest (they call for a pinch, not too much, not too little)

Muddle those

Add 4 oz of persimmon syrup and a “pinch” of ground ginger, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg

2 oz spiced rum (we used Captain Morgan)

2 oz lime juice

Shake with ice and strain into a glass

Add club soda if you wish (we did not)

Toast the one you love and enjoy

Baked Chicken Rose and Feta Stuffed Cucumbers

I've been having a lot of fun with a cookbook that's really old.  It belonged to a friend of mine who recently passed away.  Her hubby showed up at the office with a box of cookbooks.  This was the first one that I pulled out.  Published in 1963 by the Wine Advisory Board it is well beyond dog-eared.  Just as I do, Janet wrote lots of notes on the recipes she tried. And on the ones she wanted to try.  We started with one called Sherried Tomatoes.  Connie inhaled his serving while declaring, "These are some of the best tomatoes I've EVER had."  It was a recipe Janet had marked, "Excellent."

One that she'd not marked tried or to try was called Baked Chicken Rose.  Now, let me mention again that this cookbook is old.  VERY old.  It's of the generation that used convenience foods whenever possible.  So much so that when I found a recipe that called for starting with making chicken stock I was totally shocked.  So, this recipe calls for chicken bouillon and canned mushrooms and margarine.  Things I pretty much avoid or, in the case of margarine, never use.  I also realized that using chicken thighs I could make the whole dish on the stovetop.  It's just plain hot enough that I didn't want the heat of the oven.  What did we think?  I"m so glad there are leftovers!!!  This was a five out of five.  I've never used rose wine in a dish before but I'm certainly going to start now.  Fabulous flavor!!!  If I was someone who had the monthly rotation of recipes, this one would be on it.  But, I don't so all I can say it I'll make it again SOON!

To go with the chicken, I made a salad.  Not too sure what I was going to do, I peeled and seeded a big cucumber.  Then, I cut the halves in half so I had four smallish "boats."  My mind went to my friend Christiane's cucumber salad.  That I love, love, love.  I also could taste a wonderful herb salad.  Out to the herb garden where I cut a big handful of dill and a big handful of parsley.  Those got chopped finely.  Then, out came a tub of feta and the jar of capers.  I added some of each to the bowl of herbs.  Then, I poured in some really good extra virgin olive oil and pretty much mashed the whole thing up.  All of that went into the boats.   Which went onto plates and were topped with a good drizzle of everything aioli.  It's basically a spicy mayo with some tomato and some mustard and some peppers in an aioli base.  It's yummy!  But, you could drizzle over a balsamic glaze or a nice salad dressing just as easily.  We gave this one a five out of five too.  

Here's the recipe for the chicken:

Baked Chicken Rose


Ingredients:

6 chicken thighs, bone -in and skin on
2 T butter
6 T flour
1 c chicken stock
1/2 c rose wine
1/4 c thinly sliced green onions
8 oz box cremini mushrooms
1 T butter
1/2 T soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, minced
14 oz can artichoke hearts (reservc the juice!)

Directions:

Melt the butter in a large skillet.  Sprinkle a couple of tablespoons of the flour over the chicken skin.  Put the chicken thighs in skin side down.  Saute until they're nice and brown.  You're not going to want to eat the skin, but the browning will add flavor.  Flip the thighs and sprinkle on the balance of the flour.  Cook for a few minutes and then pour in the stock and the rose wine.  Allow all of that to thicken a bit.  While you're initially cooking the thighs, in a small skillet saute the sliced mushrooms in a tablespoon of butter.  Once the liquid has cooked off, add in the soy sauce and garlic.  When that liquid has cooked off, remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside.  Back to the thighs...  Add the green onions and the artichoke hearts and juice.  I chopped the artichoke hearts and they pretty much cooked into the sauce.  Next time I'll put another can of them in and cut those in half.  Add the mushrooms and cook until the sauce is thickened.  I had to add a bit more flour to get it as thick as I wanted.  You can serve this over rice, noodles, pasta, bulgur, quinoa, couscous...  Or, just plain. 

Sunday Dinner - Kate Style

As all too often happens, work has been interfering with play.  Cooking, blogging, reading, gardening, relaxing on the screened porch with a glass of wine.  All of that and more have taken a back seat to a huge transition in our business.  Someday soon, I'll have a new website and can share some of the info.  It's all good.  I'm just looking forward to getting more work/play balance in our lives. 


Frequently, I'll jot down recipes and ideas and never post them.  Haven't even had time to do that.  We've made our weekly loaves of bread in the bread machine.  Some, like the lemon oregano and the sage onion have been spectacular.  Some like the most recent have been dense and not appealing...    We made the best lobster rolls ever.  With browned butter.  Oh, my, those were GOOD!  We made fondue for the first time ever.  I went to my first Raymond James Women's Symposium in Tampa and got to see my friend, Sarah, on a panel.  Connie ziplined at Craig and Diane's one year anniversary party.  We watched Peyton's jersey get retired.  Chad and Kelly got married.  A trip to Fort Wayne to see Garrison Keillor meant dinner at Casa D'Angelos.  We saw Khazir Khan.  And, we loved a concert with our friends Mark and Chris.  Drinks with my brother John and sister-in-law Pam.  We went to a couple of dinners at Chef JJ's.  And, a couple at Chef Josephs.  A hurricane fundraiser (bbq) and a salmon cookoff at Bent Rail Brewery.  One dinner there when we just didn't have the energy to do anything but order.  But when it came to blogging, the mountain of unread newspapers and magazines always drew me to that side of the great room.  Tonight, though, I really must record what we had for dinner.  It was too good and I want to be able to make it again.  Please accept my apologies for the guesses on the measurements.  It was a last minute thrown together substitution for the much more complicated meal I'd planned for this evening.  And, I'm REALLY glad I had to substitute!


Here are some photos along the way of the last six weeks...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tonight I'd planned crab legs with a champagne beurre blanc.  Wasn't happening when dinner prep started at 7:30.  My original intent was to get something out of the freezer that I'd actually made and frozen for lunch but had yet to take into the office.  Then, I saw the frozen duck breast and thought how wonderful that'd be with pear cranberry salsa.  There were pears that had to be used up.  I'd gone onto eatyourbooks.com and looked at various pear salsas.  The pear and cranberry combo had most appealed to us.  But, I didn't want to go to the basement and hunt for the 1996 Cooks Illustrated.  Odds are good it's down there.  I just didn't want to hunt.  So, if I did duck along with pear cranberry salsa what else would be good and quick?  Neither of us wanted potatoes or rice.  Lentils sounded good.  Lentils with artichoke hearts.  And, maybe lemon.  I'd figure it out as I went along. 

The duck breast went into a bowl of warm water to thaw - still in it's package.  Lentils went into a pan to cook.  A loaf of multi-grain bread went into the bread maker.  And, everything else started going into two bowls...

Pear Cranberry Salsa

2 ripe pears, not peeled, diced

1/2 c fresh cranberries, pulsed in the processor until they're diced

1/2 c walnuts, chopped

1 small or 1/2 large jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1/2 small red onion, minced

1 T sherry vinegar

2 T extra virgin olive oil

Mix it all together and allow it to stand for about 30 minutes prior to serving.

Lentil Artichoke Salad

1/2 c green lentils, cooked

1/2 red onion, diced

1/2 T olive oil

1/4 c dry white wine

1/2 c crumbled feta cheese

1 T capers

1 t lemon zest

1 T lemon juice

2 T extra virgin olive oil 

Cook the lentils.  Saute the onion in the olive oil and deglaze the pan with the white wine.  Drain the lentils and toss everything together.  Serve at room temperature.

Duck Breast with Pear Liqueur

1 duck breast

1 T flour

1/4 c pear liqueur

Score the duck skin in a cross hatch pattern.  Be careful to not cut the meat.  Heat a skillet until it's hot enough for water droplets to sizzle.  Brown the duck breast with the fat side down.  Flip it and cook until it's your preferred doneness.  Remove the duck from the skillet and tent it with foil to keep it warm.  Whisk the flour into the rendered duck fat.  Cook it until it's browned.  Gradually pour in the pear liqueur, whisking as you pour.  You may need to add a tablespoon of water.  Slice the duck and serve with the sauce. 



Chopped with Only the Basket

I felt like I was a contestant on Chopped.  Except all I had to cook with was the contents of my basket.  And, it was a pretty darned empty basket!  We'd gotten home from Alaska the night before at 2:00.  It was supposed to be 1:00 but weather delayed an incoming flight to O'Hare so we were delayed.  Once we got home we unpacked.  Well, we unpacked what we could since Connie's primary suitcase never made the Seattle to Chicago to Indy connection.  Five cookbooks, a glass piece with fireweed, a bronze moose, a couple of switchplates and a couple of zipper pulls.  We didn't go nuts on the mementos, just the photos. 

Needless to say, we slept in.  Then, we went to the office.  We were still pretty darned tired when we finally got home about 6:30.  I'd done a decent job of cleaning out the fridge before we left.  Except for some mushrooms that smelled to high heaven!  And, neither of us wanted to go to the grocery.  Besides, we'd not made a list so that would've meant two trips.  Not happening.  In my back pack I had two apples and two small bags of almonds.  I'd tucked them in in the event we had a quick transfer and missed lunch or dinner.  In the fridge I had some celery and a bit of blue cheese.  And, on the counter there was a bowl with one weak and wobbly red onion and three shallots. Shallots that were also pretty weak and wobbly. There was a big container of basil.  First thing I did this morning when I got up was deadhead the basil.  That we had plenty of. 

I decided the smartest move was to reach my hand into the freezer and we'd have whatever it was.  LOL, it was a container of five cups of chicken stock.  Ok, then.  We were having chicken stock. 

On the way back from the office I'd seen a recipe for a roasted red bell pepper and basil soup.  That sounded really good but the apples were going to be a salad.  Connie is not a fan of either fruit OR soup.  Both for a meal was pretty much overkill!  Unless, of course, I made risotto to go with them.  Since I wound up making my own soup recipe up, I'm not crediting the original inspiration...  We were off to the races!

I really can't tell you which I liked best.  All three were fabulous and I'll make them all again.

Deconstructed Pesto Risotto

Ingredients:

1 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T olive oil
1 c Arborio rice
2 - 2.5 c chicken stock
1/4 c chopped fresh basil
3 T butter, divided
1/2 c pine nuts
3/4 c shredded Parmesan, divided
8 large fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Saute the red onion in the olive oil.  Once its softened, add the garlic.  Don't let any of it brown.  Add the rice and let it get nice and warm.  Then, start ladling in the chicken stock one ladle-full at a time.  Let the rice absorb the stock before you add more.  And, remember, to be nice and creamy the rice needs to be knocked around a bit to release the starches.  So, stir and stir and stir again.  When the rice is about half cooked, toss in the chopped basil.  Then, just as the rice finishes, add a tablespoon of butter and 1/2 c of the shredded Parmesan.  While the rice is cooking, melt the other two tablespoons of butter in a skillet that's large enough to hold the eight basil leaves.  Let the butter get nice and brown before adding the basil.  Cook it until it's nice and crisp.  Brown the pine nuts in a dry skillet.  To serve, mound the risotto in the middle of your dishes.  Sprinkle with the additional Parmesan, then the pine nuts.  Top that with the fried basil leaves then drizzle with the remaining brown butter.



Blue Cheese and Apple Salad

Ingredients:

2 apples, diced (I'd use Gala)
3 ribs celery, diced
1/4 c toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 c blue cheese, crumbled
2 t lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 c mayonnaise

Directions:

Mix it all together and serve.


Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Basil Soup

Ingredients:

2 shallots, diced
3 T softened butter, divided
1 jar roasted red bell peppers, plus the juice
2 - 3 c chicken stock (I used about 2.5 c because that's what was left from the risotto)
1/2 c chopped fresh basil
2 T flour
4 oz jalapeno cream cheese
                          4 T sliced fresh basil

Directions:

Saute the shallots in a tablespoon of the butter.  Chop the red bell peppers and add them along with the juice from the jar.  Add the 1/2 c chopped fresh basil.  Add the chicken stock.  Cook for a few minutes just to blend the flavors.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup.  Mix the other two tablespoons of butter with the flour and slowly add that to the soup.  Stir well and allow it to thicken.  Stir in the cream cheese.  Once the cream cheese is melted, serve and top with the sliced fresh basil.