Tag Archives: cookbooks

Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho

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Yes, I know I just posted a gazpacho a little over a week ago, but this one had to be shared ASAP – I didn’t want you to miss out on those marvelous, in season, local strawberries!

Or, if you want to, you can blame my seemingly duplicate post on all that Nyquil I’ve been taking for a week since I caught a doozy of a cold that has now turned into a sinus infection. Lucky me. Wait. Actually! That’s another reason to love this gazpacho! It is chock-full of that good ole immune system enhancer, vitamin C. Go C!

Okay, so you already know I love gazpacho. I make a version of it a much as possible during summer months when the produce it is at its peak. It is one of our summer staples for its ease to make (without the stove) and fresh, healthy flavors. And, this Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho, while a new recipe for us, has jumped to the top of our list of favorite gazpachoes. Why? Strawberries. It’s all about the strawberries and how they come together with the tomatoes and cucumbers to give us a welcome (on this 97 degree F day in southern Wisconsin), delightful and chilled summer soup.

Harvest to Heat

Before I get into the specifics of the Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho, I want to show some heartfelt love for the cookbook that gave us this recipe, Harvest to Heat, by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer. I bought this cookbook several months ago and have literally fallen in love with it. It highlights farm to table recipes by chefs from the country’s best restaurants and the farmers and artisans that grow and make the ingredients for them. The gorgeous pages are full of amazing, fresh recipes, yes, but also stories from every cook, chef, artisan and farmer that contributed to the recipe. The authors visited each one of them and put together a cookbook that feels like a love story for the best, freshest ingredients. I love that. There’s a sneak peek of the book at Amazon’s listing for Harvest to Heat where you can see a sampling of recipes, and view the list of all the recipes in the table of contents. If fresh food is what you love, you’ll find so many good ideas in this cookbook. (I can’t wait to try the Crème Fraîche Galette with Heirloom Tomatoes this week too!) There are just a handful of recipes that had ingredients I didn’t recognize or couldn’t find. Most of the time they give you a substitute ingredient right in the recipe. Once or twice they don’t, but I just look at that as a chance to google it and learn something new. :)

My gigantic hulled strawberry.

This particular recipe has the simplest ingredients: strawberries, tomatoes, a red bell pepper, cucumbers, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, Kosher salt and a day-old slice of bread (for the croutons). It will take a little time to hull the strawberries and chop everything, but once that’s done…

…it all goes into the food processor to be puréed until it’s nice and smooth. Then, to get rid of the strawberry seeds, the mixture gets strained through a mesh sieve into a large bowl. Except the croutons! (The process for making the croutons is with the recipe below) At this point I seasoned my gazpacho with a little bit of Kosher salt and let it chill in the refrigerator for an hour or so.

That. Is. It! Just ladle your beautiful creation into a bowl and garnish with the croutons, diced cucumbers and diced strawberries. This simple process to a fantastic gazpacho like this one was much appreciated on a hot day like this (and on a day where I didn’t feel so hot myself).

Enjoy!

NOTES: Because I knew it was going to be blazing hot today, I made the croutons last night (rather than heat up the stove (and my kitchen) today). This recipe serves 4, or one sick girl for a day. :) Cost: $7.08 or $1.77/serving (I already had the vinegar, oil, bread and salt and just had to buy the produce).

Strawberry-Tomato Gazpacho Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Chef Jean Georges Vongerichten in the cookbook, Harvest to Heat by Darryl Estrine and Kelly Kochendorfer

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 pints fresh strawberries
  • 1/2 pound red cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (divided: 2 tablespoons, 1 tablespoon
  • Kosher Salt
  • 1 slice day old bread, cut into 1/4 inch dice
  • 1 small cucumber, cut into 1/4 inch dice, for garnish

Directions:

Hull the strawberries. Set aside a half pint of strawberries and cut the remaining 2 pints in half. Put the halved strawberries in a food processor and purée until smooth.

Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, chopped cucumbers, balsamic vinegar and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the the food processor with the puréed strawberries. Purée until smooth then strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl. Season with Kosher salt and set aside.

To make the croutons:

In a medium skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the 1/4 inch bread cubes and toss them in the oil for 3-5 minutes or until they’re lightly browned. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate to cool completely.

For Garnish & Serving:

Cut the remaining 1/2 pint of strawberries into a 1/4 inch dice. Ladle the gazpacho into serving bowls and garnish each with a spoonful of the diced strawberries, diced cucumbers and a few croutons.

Grilling Mode – An Iron Chef Lunch

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Before I say anything else, I want to emphatically thank Iron Chefs Bobby Flay and Cat Cora for their recipes for this lunch. If you try either one of these recipes, you’ll see why and want to send them thank you cards yourself. Oh. My…..

I’m not usually a big fan of grilled food, much to the chagrin of fabulous Hubby, but. BUT! Bobby Flay’s Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange, Maple and Black Pepper Glaze served with Cat Cora’s Grilled Asparagus with Citrus and Caper Aîoli ….well, there’s no way I can’t love grilling now. In fact, I want to grill everything after trying these. These two recipes, along with some grilled Italian garlic bread, have converted me. This lunch was nothing short of perfection. It really was the most delicious thing I ever took off a grill.

Please forgive me for the lack of step-by-step photos for these two dishes. Honestly, I was having so much fun preparing them that I flat out forgot to take them! Some blogger I am, right? Anyway….so….today I’ll simply share the recipes with you, having full confidence in your ability to make these dishes without those step-by-step photos. :)

Let’s start with that chicken!

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange, Maple and Black Pepper Glaze

This recipe is adapted from one in Bobby Flay’s Grill It! Cookbook, but you can also view it at The Food Network site, where he uses chicken thighs and drumsticks instead (which we will try next time!) Also, we used orange zest and orange juice rather than tangerine. (Couldn’t find the tangerine-orange juice!)

Ingredients:

  • 5 tablespoons canola oil
  • 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 quart orange juice, not from concentrate
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 1 orange, zested
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
  • 4 boneless chicken breasts (8 oz)
  • Salt
  • 2 green onions, thinly sliced, for garnish

Directions:

Heat the grill to medium-high.

For the glaze:

  • Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a medium saucepan over high heat, add the onion and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the juice and thyme, bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to approximately 1/2 cup, about 20-30 minutes.
  • Strain the mixture into a bowl and whisk in the syrup, soy sauce and black pepper and let cool to room temperature. Can be made 2 days in advance and brought to room temperature before using.

For the chicken:

  • Brush chicken on both sides with the remaining oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until golden brown on both sides and just cooked through. Begin brushing with the glaze during the last 5 minutes of grilling. Remove to a platter and sprinkle with the green onion. Tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with grilled citrus if you’d like.

On to the grilled asparagus!

I’ve never tried a Cat Cora recipe before, but when I saw this one in this month’s issue of Coastal Living I was all over it. As some of you know, I adore asparagus, and now that it’s in season, it tastes better than ever. And the aïoli compliments the flavor SO well. To be honest, after I initially made the aïoli, I didn’t like it. It was much to bitter for me at that point. But, after the flavors had time to meld, and I poured it over the warm asparagus, I just loved it. Hubby thinks it might be the best thing that ever happened to him.

Cat Cora’s Grilled Asparagus with Citrus and Caper Aïoli Recipe

Adapted from a recipe in the May, 2012 issue of Coastal Living Magazine

For the aïoli (make this first):

Ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 large garlic clove, pressed
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
  • 2 1/4 cups olive oil
  • 1 jalapeño or other hot chile pepper, stem removed
  • 1 teaspoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a food processor or blender, and process until well blended. With processor on, slowly pour in oil and process until smooth.
  2. Add jalapeño, capers, kosher salt and pepper, pulsing until well mixed. If aïoli is too thick, stir in a little bit of water at a time until it reaches desired consistency.

For the grilled asparagus:

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/2 pounds large asparagus stalks, trimmed
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat (350° to 400°).
  2. Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus. Cook asparagus in boiling salted water 2 to 3 minutes or until crisp-tender; drain. Plunge asparagus into an ice water bath to stop the cooking process; drain.
  3. Brush asparagus with olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt and pepper. Grill 2 minutes on each side; let cool. Top with Citrus-and-Caper Aïoli.

The perfect lunch? Dinner? Both :) If you try either one of these, let me know what you think. I hope you love it as much as we did!

I love eating like this. I could do it every day. This recipe goes in the arsenal for sure, especially for one of those hot July days when I don’t want to heat up the house by running the oven. In fact, I have a lot of recipes flagged in Bobby Flay’s Grill It! for that exact purpose. I like to be prepared that way :)

What’s your favorite grill recipe? Link me!

Chive Risotto Cakes

Chive Risotto Cakes

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I’d never even thought of making something like this until I saw the recipe for these Chive Risotto Cakes in Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook. I love risotto. I love anything with the name “cakes” in the title. And I love Ina Garten. There was no way this wasn’t going to be something I loved, and it wasn’t. These are fantastic!

I, of course, made a meal out of a couple of them, but wouldn’t they be a great appetizer or a side dish? I love the creaminess the Fontina cheese brings to these little darlings. It goes so well with the chives and the yogurt, believe it or not. If you like risotto, you’re gonna absolutely love the heck out of these.

How’s that for simple ingredients? All you need is some Greek yogurt, 2 extra large eggs, 1 1/2 cups of grated Fontina cheese, a cup of Arborio rice, a little bit of chopped chives, 3/4 cup of panko, salt, pepper and some olive oil. (The entire recipe is printed below) I love when something so wonderful comes from such simple ingredients.

To make Ina’s Chive Risotto Cakes, the first thing I did was make the rice. Very simple:  just bring a large pot of water to boil, add 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the Arborio rice. Let it cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. It will be soft when it’s done.

While the rice was cooking, I lightly beat the two eggs….

….and mixed them in with the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina and salt and pepper.

I knew right here we were about to experience tasty risotto cake goodness. I couldn’t resist, and had to have a little taste…..yep, it was perfect.

Once the rice was done, I drained it well with a wire mesh sieve and mixed it in with the cheese mixture. You want your rice to be cold when you do this, so drain it, then rinse it with cold water.

Once my rice was drained and rinsed, I added it to the cheese mixture….

and mixed it up well with just a large spoon.

Then it was time to wait. I covered everything with plastic cling wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for two hours. You can let it chill overnight if you’d like. The idea is to have a firm mixture after chilling….

….because next it’s time to form little 3 inch patties, each about 3/4 of an inch thick. I put the panko bread crumbs in a shallow plate and put the patties on top of it. I turned them once, so the panko coated both sides of the patties.

With 3 tablespoons of olive oil heated in my large skillet it was time to fry ‘em up! They looked so good. The problem was, the pan wasn’t hot enough. The recipe said to cook them over medium-low heat. That didn’t work for me. I had to kick the heat up to medium-high before the cakes started browning the way they were supposed to. Remember, I have a 20 year old Jenn Air electric stove top, so don’t assume you’ll have the same problem, but I wanted to mention it anyway.

It took about 5 minutes on each side for me to get this:

Chive Risotto Cake bliss. Yes they were as good as they look, thank you very much! :) Hubby was so happy with these, and as for me? A big fan of risotto? I could have eaten all twelve of them.

In other news, I really shouldn’t write cooking blog posts when I’m hungry….

Enjoy them if you try them and have a wonderful Wednesday!

xoxo,

Sarah

Chive Risotto Cakes Recipe

Adapted from a recipe by Ina Garten in her cookbook, Barefoot Contessa, Back to Basics

Print the original recipe at The Food Network

Ingredients:

  • Kosher salt
  • 1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 2 extra-large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
  • 1 1/2 cups grated Italian fontina cheese (5 ounces)
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 3/4 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
  • Good olive oil

Directions:

Bring a large (4-quart) pot of water to a boil over medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4-inch) ice-cream scoop or a large spoon (we used the large spoon). Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and 3/4-inch thick. Place 4 to 6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Arrange on a serving platter and serve hot.

Sweet Potato Apple Hash

Sweet Potato, Bacon and Apple Hash…Yum!

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I’ll be making this Sweet Potato, Bacon and Apple Hash over and over again….especially if we ever have a week like last week again. This hash has the power to calm your nerves and help you relax after spending thousands of dollars on a new furnace and a new car. Honest. Oh yes, we had to buy a new car too, on top of the furnace fiasco I was complaining about last week. But, even buying a new car is no where near as exciting as this hash.

You can be sure I’ll never post anything here unless Hubby or I absolutely loves it.  Not only did we both absolutely love this, we both agree it’s one of the tastiest dishes we’ve made since our cooking addiction started just over a year ago.


This hash has such an amazing blend of flavors. The sweet potatoes with the Granny Smith apples are a no brainer-for me, I knew I’d love that combination. But! Add the different kinds of onions, the crushed red pepper, maple syrup and the rosemary and you get a big bowl of comfort food heaven. Sweet and savory get married and live happily every after in this recipe by Chef Anne Burrell in her cookbook, Cook Like A Rock Star.

Let’s make this hash! It’s easy and everything cooks in one pan. Hooray!

The very first thing to tackle is cutting four slices of thick cut bacon into 1/4 inch lardons (pronounced LAHR-don or lahr-DOON), like this. The next time you’re on Jeopardy and the answer for Double Jeopardy is, “1/4 inch pieces of bacon cut crosswise,” you can buzz in and say, “What are lardons, Alex?” and you will win. You’re welcome.

Once the lardons were cut, we covered the bottom of our large saute pan/skillet with olive oil and cooked them until it became brown and crispy. On our ancient Jenn Air electric stove top, this took a medium-high heat, rather than the medium heat the recipe called for. Whatever it takes on your much newer and more efficient stove than mine, make sure the little bacon lardons have cooked through and started to crisp.

Next we added our onion. We had a half a red onion and a half a white onion to use up so we cut those into 1/2 inch diced pieces. (You need one full onion). Also add the crushed red pepper and finely chopped rosemary leaves at this point. Season with salt and saute for about 10 minutes….

….or until your onions look something like this. While your onions are cooking down, it’s a good time to peel and cut your sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch diced pieces. Don’t forget to occasionally stir the onions though! For the record, I chose to cut my potatoes (and the apples) just before the recipe needed them because, as a professional worrier, I was worried about them turning brown while waiting to be used.

Anyway, next, add the sweet potatoes to the onion and bacon mixture….

….add 1 1/2 cups of chicken stock….

….and a quarter cup of REAL maple syrup and cover. (Please, for the love of God, do not use the imitation syrup for this. Please). Let everything simmer on medium heat for 15-20 minutes, or more if necessary, until the potatoes are soft but not mushy. Then remove the cover and let the liquid reduce by half. This took another 10 minutes or so for me. While the sweet potatoes were simmering, I cut three, cored and peeled, Granny Smith Apples into 1/2 inch diced pieces….

…and added them, along with the white parts of the scallions, to the softened potatoes, bacon and onions. Saute everything for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the apples are soft.

Stir in the scallion greens and pepitas (if you’re using, we didn’t). Have a taste and add salt if you need to. I let mine simmer a couple more minutes after I added a bit of salt.

And voila! You’re ready to eat! And eat. And eat. This recipe serves 4-6, but I assure you these will be big servings. Not only is this hash delicious, it’s beautiful and SO easy to make. This is my version of the perfect comfort food! Give it a try, it’s easy, satisfying and simply delicious!

Sweet Potato, Bacon & Apple Hash Recipe

adapted from a recipe by Chef Anne Burrell in her cookbook, Cook Like A Rock Star

Printer-friendly PDF

Ingredients:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • 4 slices thick cut bacon, cut into lardons (1/4 inch pieces cut cross-wise)
  • 1 onion, cut in ½ inch dice
  • 2 sprigs of fresh rosemary leaves, finely chopped
  • Pinch of crushed red pepper
  • Kosher salt
  • 3 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
  • ¼ cup maple syrup
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 1 bunch scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced
  • 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice.
  • 1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas), toasted (Optional, we did not add these in our version)

Directions:

  • Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the bacon and put the pan over medium heat.
  • When the bacon has started to get crispy and brown, add the onions, season with salt and saute until the onions are very soft and aromatic.
  • Add the sweet potatoes, maple syrup and chicken stock. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft, but not mushy. Remove the lid and let the liquid reduce by half.
  • Add the apples and the scallion whites and saute for another 5 to 6 minutes, or until the apples are soft.
  • Transfer to a serving platter and garnish with the scallion greens and pumpkin seeds (if using).

And The Winner of the Bi*Rite Market’s Eat Good Food Cookbook Is….

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AYoungFoodie!!! Congratulations!!! Please email me your mailing address (to: sbo1999 [at] att.net)  so I can have Amazon send you a copy next week!

Thanks to everyone who entered. I appreciate your visits and participation. We WILL be doing this again…if all goes well, I’d like to do a cookbook giveaway at least once a month.

I hope you’re all having a yummy, wonderful weekend!

xoxo,

Sarah