Tomato Bread With Prosciutto

June 3, 2011

How good is this recipe? So good we forgot to take a picture and ate it all before we remembered. If I could pick two words to describe this recipe, it would be yummy and fast. Enough said. Seriously, so good and so easy. A quick char of the bread on the grill. A quick whir of the food processor and you are done.

I have blogged 2 of Bobby Flay’s cookbooks in the past. They are always full of good recipes. This one is no exception. The subtitle of the book is “125 Reasons to Light Your Fire”. As if we need any reasons to grill!

The Ruling: As stated above, we all loved it! Well, youngest child just ate the grilled bread. It was nice and light and really hit the spot. So quick to make. You could even use this as a fast meal, serve with a salad and you are good to go!

Tomato Bread with Prosciutto, pg 37

 Ingredients:

• 6 very ripe plum tomatoes or 3 beefsteak tomatoes, seeded and chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• ¼ cup olive oil, plus extra for brushing
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, finely chopped
• 8 slices ciabatta or other crusty, country-style bread, about 1/ inch thick
• 8 thin slices prosciutto, Serrano, or Smithfield ham

Directions:  

1. Combine the tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste in a food processor or blender.  Puree until smooth, transfer to a bowl, and stir in the thyme.  Let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.  (The puree can be made up to a day in advance, covered, and kept refrigerated.  Bring to room temperature before serving.)
2. Heat your grill to high.
3. Brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill the bread for 1 minute on each side, until lightly charred.  Remove the bread from the grill and generously brush each slice on one side with the tomato puree.  Top each one with a slice of prosciutto and serve.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at http://www.ididit-fargo.com/.

• Interested in starting your own Professional Organizing business, visit http://www.mssimplicity.com/ to learn about how Melissa can help you! 
• Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@mssimplicity.com.
• MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click hereto find out the latest offerings!
• For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page here.

Grilled Asparagus Chopped Salad

Day 147: Bobby Flay’s Grill It!

May 27, 2011

I am on a salad kick that is now combined with grilling. I rarely make a meal using my oven in the summer but I do get tired of the traditional grilled chicken breasts. Mix it up when you grill and add in something fun like grilling fruits and vegetables.

Bobby Flay is that cutie pie grilling Iron Chef master that can be seen on the Food Network. His focus is on the grill, and when he writes a cookbook, I pay attention. This cookbook is full of 150 dishes that are not all that complicated but as always full of flavor.

The Ruling: So good! I can’t wait to make this one again. We did not have Meyer Lemons, and used just regular lemons and it was still delicious. Did my fussy eaters try the salad…..nope. Too bad for them!

Grilled Asparagus Chopped Salad with Creamy Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette and Grilled Pita Chip Croutons, pg 14

Ingredients:

• 2 pocketless pita breads
• Olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups mesclun greens
• ½ pint grape tomatoes, halved
• 8 ounces aged white Cheddar cheese, cut into ½ inch dice
• 1 English cucumber, cut into ½ inch dice
• ½ cup black olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
• 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed and drained again
• Perfectly Grilled Asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces (recipe follows)
• Meyer Lemon Dressing (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Heat your grill to high.
2. Brush the pita on both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Grill until golden brown and crispy, about 1 minute per side.  Remove the pita to a cutting board and cut each pita in half.  Cut each half into ½ inch slices.
3. Combine the mesclun, tomatoes, cheese, cucumber, olives, chickpeas, and asparagus in a large bowl.  Add half of the dressing and toss well to coat; season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with more of the dressing and top with the pita chips.

_____________________________

Perfectly Grilled Asparagus, pg 11

Ingredients,

• 1 ½ pounds (about 24 medium stalks) fresh asparagus
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Heat your grill to high.
2. To trim the asparagus, snap the spears with two hands; the tough part should break right off.   For a cleaner look and less waste, you can cut off the tough bottoms with a knife and peel the bottom half of the stalk if necessary.
3. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, toss with the oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Grill the asparagus, perpendicular to the grates of the grill, for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until just crisp-tender.

______________________________

Meyer Lemon Dressing, pg 15

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup fresh Meyer lemon juice or 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice.
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon whole-grain mustard
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves

Directions:

1. Whisk together the Meyer lemon juice, vinegar, honey, mayonnaise, both mustards, and salt and pepper to taste in a medium bowl.  Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified and then stir in the tarragon.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at http://www.ididit-fargo.com/.

• Interested in starting your own Professional Organizing business, visit http://www.mssimplicity.com/ to learn about how Melissa can help you! 
• Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@mssimplicity.com.
• MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click hereto find out the latest offerings!
• For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page here.

Grilled Vegetables With Saffron Rice

Day 141: Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade Cooking Made Light

May 21, 2011

I really have been on a grilling kick lately and I don’t anticipate it going away anytime soon. Winter was long and all I can hope for is for summer to last even longer…..since we didn’t get a spring. Have you ever tried grilling vegetables before? It takes the vegetable and takes it to the next level and adds several different layers of flavor. If you have never tried to grill vegetables, I challenge you to do so….you will thank me!

Sandra Lee is one of the Food Network starts whose philosophy is to use 70% store-bought ingredients and 30% fresh combine to make simple and delicious meals for your family. I always enjoy her cookbooks as they have wonderful photos and are pretty straight forward in both their ingredient list and instructions. This cookbook is filled with chapter after chapter of so many easy recipes. From breakfast smoothies to desserts and from vegetarian to salads and soups. Something to please everyone in your household.

The Ruling: Tasted great. But of course the fussy two didn’t eat any…..that is sad for them. Some day I know my boys will read my blog and regret all the great food that they passed by. But the trick to getting kids to eat food they don’t want to eat is to not nag them…..but to keep putting it in front of them and offering it to them. I am seeing hints of my middle child becoming a better eater as he will at least try new foods. He use to vomit at the sight of certain foods. Now he has tried sushi, salmon and shrimp….which is a huge step! I am keeping the faith!

Grilled Vegetable With Saffron Rice, page 196

Ingredients:

• 1 2/3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 packet (5-ounce) saffron –flavored rice
• Canola oil cooking spray
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, woody ends removed
• 2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 zucchini, cut into ¼ inch slices
• 1 teaspoon capers, drained
• ¼ cup slivered almonds, toasted

 Directions:

1. In a large saucepan, bring chicken broth to a boil over high heat.  Add rice; reduce heat to low.  Cover; simmer for 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy.
2. Set up grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat.  Coat a grill pan with cooking spray.  Preheat pan.  Working in batches, place asparagus, peppers, and zucchini on pan and grill just until tender.  Use tongs to remove from heat.  Cut zucchini and asparagus into bite-size pieces.
3. In a large bowl, toss together rice, grilled vegetables, and capers.  Top with toasted almonds.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Peking Wraps

Day 139: The Soup Mix Gourmet

May 19, 2011

Seems like I am on an asian food kick lately. I try to find recipes that are pretty easy and not to complex to make. You could make a meal of the Asian Turkey Pot Stickers, the Beef Noodles in Thai Peanut Sauce and this recipe of Peking Wraps. Three different Asian flavors, but all good and fairly simple to make. I would start with the Wraps and get those made first, followed with the prep of the pot stickers and then followed up with the Beef Noodles and you will have better than Chinese take-out!

I received this cookbook from a friend who found it while doing some curbside shopping. (We have a clean up week in our community where everyone puts out their unwanted items and people come and look through it before the city comes and takes it to the dump. It is a way to prevent some things going into the landfill. It takes the saying “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure” to the limit.) The theme of the cookbook is to take soup mixes of every kind and use them as the seasoning of the dish. Canned soup, dried soup and ramen soup mixes are all part of the mix. You will find all variety of meals within the almost 500 pages of this cookbook.

The Ruling: I think the only drawback was that it was a little salty. I guess that is what you get when you use a ramen soup mix pack. One drawback is that you just use the soup pack for the recipe and not the noodles. I guess you could save the noodles for another recipe. But I thought why not use a bullion cube instead. I used a rotisserie chicken to make it even faster to prepare.

Peking Wraps, page 63

Ingredients:

• One 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
• Flavor packet from 1 package oriental flavor ramen noodles (reserve noodles for another use)
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Four to six 12-inch flour tortillas
• ¼ cup hoisin sauce
• 2 cups finely shredded cooked chicken
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1 ½ cups fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and dried thoroughly
• ¼ cup grated carrot for garnish
• 4 green onions, cut into fans, for garnish

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, blend the cream cheese with the ramen flavor packet.  Blend in the soy sauce.
2. Place a large sheet of plastic wrap on the counter and center a tortilla on it.  Spread a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture over the tortilla.  Spread a small amount of the hoisin sauce over the cream cheese mixture, and then sprinkle on some chicken, green onions, and bean sprouts.  Roll up the tortilla tightly and seal it in the plastic wrap.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate the wraps for at least 4 hours.
3. When ready to serve, cut the wraps into 1 inch thick rounds and serve them garnished with grated carrot and green onion fans.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Beef And Noodles In Thai Peanut Sauce

Day 138: Robin Miller Quick Mix Meals

May 18, 2011

Our family likes to make asian dishes and for the most part the kids will take off  their fussy pants for the night and try something new. My middle child even tried sushi, because he heard that girls like guys who eat sushi…..I am going to go with that if it encourages him to try new food.

Robin Miller is one of the Food Network up and coming food chef stars. She gives us tips on getting meals to the table fast using her tricks found in chapters called, “The Quick Fix Kitchen”, “In the Bag” or “Morph it”, to name a few. Robin has a few tricks up her sleeve besides just teaching you how to make a quick meal. For example, you can make a ham and then use it in a penne pasta salad, ham wraps and then mac and cheese with ham in it. Take the one meal and get 3 more meals….genius! Smart cookbook with loads of ideas for family meals.

The Ruling: We had a hard time trying to find the right kind of noodles for the recipe. We should have bought linguine noodles instead. I wasn’t home for the meal but my husband and kids thought it was ok. My husband would add more ginger to kick it up a notch.

Beef Noodles in Thai Peanut Sauce, page 88

Ingredients:

Thai Peanut Sauce:

• 3 cups reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce

Pad Thai:

• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 ¼ pounds lean beef steak (such as sirloin or flank), cut crosswise into ¼ inch thick strips
• ¼ cup chopped dry-roasted peanuts
• ¼ cup chopped scallions (white and green parts)

Directions:

1. Cook the noodles according to the package directions.  Drain, transfer to a large bowl, and cover with aluminum foil or plastic wrap to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, whisk together the sauce ingredients until well blended and set the pan over medium heat.  Bring to a simmer and let simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Heat the peanut oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.  Add 1 cup of the peanut sauce and simmer until the beef is cooked through, about 5 minutes.
4. Transfer the beef mixture to the noodles and toss to combine, then serve on individual plates topped with the peanuts and scallions.  The leftover peanut sauce will keep in the refrigerator up to 4 days or in the freezer up to 3 months; thaw completely in the refrigerator or microwave for about 3 minutes on LOW before using.

 

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

 

Beef Medallions With Chorizo Baked Beans

Day 136: Robin To The Rescue: Quick and Simple Recipes for Delicious Home Cooking

May 16, 2011

You know by now that I am a fan of quick cooking meals. On week nights, there is nothing better than knowing that you can have a home cooked meal on the table within 30 minutes. Our lives seem to be getting so busy I need meals in seconds. But what I really need to do is to slow down a bit and catch our breath and gather around the family dinner table. Our family dinner table is there somewhere….under my pile of papers for all of my current projects I am working on.

Finding cookbooks that help me get those meals on the table in what seems like just a few minutes is nirvana. Robin Miller is among the collection of  Food Network celebrity chefs who have their own line of cookbooks. I like the fact that her recipes are full of fresh ingredients and doesn’t rely on processed food. I can find many that I want to make in this cookbook, from Pork Tenderloin with Raisin-Cognac Sauce to Meatballs with Root Beer BBQ Sauce.

The Ruling: Everyone loved them. We had to fight over the steaks as my husband bought 4 filets mignons and there are 5 of us. The Chorizo baked beans were really good as well….I didn’t put them away after dinner and my oldest son polished them all off! Looks like this one is going in the recipe rotation for our family. Please note that we did buy different chorizo after our last attempt with making something with chorizo.

Beef Medallions with Chorizo Baked Beans, page 177

Ingredients:

Chorizo Baked Beans:

• Two 15 ounce cans red beans, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup diced chorizo or other cooked spicy sausage, such as andouille
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• One 8 ounce can tomato sauce
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Steaks:

• 4 filets mignons
• Salt and cracked black peppercorns to taste
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 2 teaspoons olive oil

Directions:

1. To make the beans, in a medium saucepan, combine the beans, sausage, onion, tomato sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, and paprika. Set over medium heat and bring to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, season both sides of the beef with salt and cracked pepper. Brush the Worcestershire over both sides of the beef. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook for 3 to 5 minutes per side for medium doneness. Serve the beef with the beans on the side.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Asian Turkey Pot Stickers

Day 133: Minute Meals

May 13, 2011

Who doesn’t love pot stickers? Anyone? Anyone? I thought so….we all love them! I had never made them at home before. I love ordering them in restaurants but I don’t like the fact that you get 6 for $6. Making them at home brings down the price point quite a bit. The fact that they are easy, makes me think that we will be making these more often!

Really you can make gourmet meals in minutes. This cookbook promises to do it in 20 minutes! Each recipe comes with step by step instructions for each step of the meal. While one part is cooking, get chopping on another part. No rest for the weary….but you will get a meal on the table in 20 minutes as your reward! For the meal that I made, we just did the pot stickers and didn’t have the salad or dessert! So many good choices in the cookbook.

The Ruling: We all like it. Everyone in our family does eat pot stickers and I told my husband this one is going in the monthly rotation file. I loved the fact that they were made from ground turkey and not pork. The only thing that I would change is I would add some water chestnuts for some crunch!

Asian Turkey Pot Stickers, page 92

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons chopped pickled ginger or grated fresh ginger root
• 1 1/4 pounds lean ground turkey
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
•  2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• 24 square wonton wrappers, each 3 inches
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 3/4 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

1. Chop enough pickled or fresh ginger to measure 2 or 3 tablespoons.
2. In a large bowl, combine the turkey, scallions, 2 tablespoons of the ginger, Worcestershire sauce, and sesame oil, tossing to mix.
3. Lay 12 of the wonton wrappers on the counter. Place a heaping tablespoon of the turkey filling in the middle of each skin. Bring the sides of the skins up and press to make them hold on the sides, then slightly down, forming a flat bottom. (Filling will show at the top.) Repeat with the remaining 11 wrappers.
4. Heat a heavy 12- inch skillet over medium-high heat. As it heats, finish making dumplings with the remaining 12 wonton wrappers and filling.
5. Add the canola oil to the hot skillet and heat until hot. Add the dumplings (crowding them in is fine) and saute until the bottoms brown, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth and cover the pan. Lower the heat and steam the dumplings until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

 If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Shish-Ka-Bobs

Day 132: Don’t Panic – Dinner is in the Freezer

May 12, 2011

Finally I think grilling season is here! Add in putting food on a skewer and you have an action packed meal where the energy level for everyone goes up. Everyone loves eating food on a stick! Isn’t that why county fairs now have deep-fried everything on a stick? I love making kabobs as home, but I often forget to soak my skewers and they end up burning on the ends. I had heard about these new wire skewers that are flexible and you can thread everything on them and put them in the bag for marinating. The good news is that they fit in a big and you don’t have a bunch of sticks trying to poke out of the bag. We tried them this weekend and they worked great! In the dishwasher they went after dinner for easy clean up. Just think of all the things that you could string on this and marinate and grill for dinner!

I love cookbooks that give you ideas to prepare the meals ahead of time and put them in the freezer. Wanting to spend less time inside during the summer months I instantly zeroed in the recipes that are focused around the grill. The other recipe that I thought looked great was Tropical Chicken Ribbons. This cookbook also gives you the proportions if you want to make 3x, 6x or 9x the original recipe. What a great time (and math) saver!

The Ruling: We all liked it. This marinade is going in my recipe box for summer recipes. Easy to make and gave some great flavor. We forgot to put the vegetables on the skewers and just had the meat and it tasted great. I had the leftover meat cold as lunch and it still had great flavor.

Shish-Ka-Bobs, page 150

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 Tablespoons A-1 steak sauce
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 2 Tablespoons cider vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup oil
• 2 Tablespoons oil

Directions:

Cooking Day Instructions: Cut sirloin into cubes and place in freezer bags. Boil marinade ingredients until sugar dissolves. Pour cooled marinade over meat. Seal securely. Freeze, using freezer bag method.

Serving Day Instructions: Thaw meat completely. Place meat on skewers with onions, mushrooms, green and red peppers, pineapple, and cherry tomatoes. Grill to desired meat temperature.

Hints: Shish-Ka-Bobs can also be cooked under the broiler. Watch closely and rotate skewers to cook meat and vegetable evenly. When using wooden skewers, soak them in water for 10-15 minutes before skewing meat and vegetables. This will keep the wood from burning.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  MS. Simplicity offers monthly classes, click here to find out the latest offerings! For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

 If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Simple Asparagus Tarts

Day 131: Entertaining Vegetarians

May 11, 2011

You know Spring is here when you can find the asparagus on sale. Growing up my mom had an entire garden bed dedicated to growing asparagus. They do take up a lot of room, but they are tasty when you can get them fresh. I love to eat asparagus all year-long and I am always looking for new ways to prepare. My favorite is to oven roast them with some balsamic and sea salt. You could even top it with some shavings of fresh Parmesan on top at the end. Once summer is here I take the oven roasting outside to the grill. When grilling asparagus I do like to pop them in the microwave for under a minute to give them a quick jump-start to cooking.

Chances are that if you have a party, one of your guests will probably be vegetarian. I live in the upper midwest and I am finding more and more vegetarians. We are blessed to live in an area where we can find grass-fed beef and organic beef and chickens. So the turn towards vegetarianism is slower than it is in other areas of the country. I know I can be a vegetarian, but I live with carnivores who need to be fed meat or they get grumpy. If you are a meat eater but have friends who are vegetarians, this would be a cookbook that would help you find some good offerings for those friends. The cookbook has great photos and most of the recipes are fairly simple to prepare. I think the tortellini skewers with herb oil sounds great!

The Ruling: Well, since only three of us eat asparagus only three of us ate it. We liked it, but there was some problems in the execution of the dish. Some of the pastry cream overflowed and made a mess in the oven. I think we also underbaked it as well….it should have stayed in the oven for an extra 5 minutes. So when you make it, check on it every so often to make sure it is behaving and doing what is supposed to be doing!

Simple Asparagus Tarts, page 76

Ingredients:

• 1 pound 2 ounce medium-thickness asparagus spears trimmed
• 2 teaspoons semolina or cornmeal
• 13 oz. ready-rolled puff pastry
• 2 egg yolks
• scant 1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour cream
• a pinch of salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• heaping 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Add the asparagus, return to a boil, and cook for 3 minutes. Drain under cold running water until cool, then pat dry.
2. Sprinkle the semolina or cornmeal over a large cookie sheet, or over two small ones. Divide the puff pastry into two rectangles and place on the sheet. Using a sharp knife, score a 3/4 inch border around the egg of the pastry, not cutting through completely. Arrange the asparagus inside the pastry frames. To ensure that each slice has a fair share of the delicious tips, alternate the direction of the tips. Mix together the egg yolks, creme fraiche or sour cream, and seasoning in a measuring glass. Pour the mixture evenly into the middle of the two pastry frames, which should allow the borders to puff up in the oven before the custard runs off the edge. Quickly sprinkle the Parmesan over the two pastries and place int he preheated oven immediately.
3. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the pastry is deep golden and the custard is patched with gold. Serve warm, each tart cut into four pieces. Cold tarts can be successfully reheated in an oven at 400 degrees for 5-7 minutes.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

 If you try any of my suggestions, I would love to hear from you.  It helps me to understand what my readers want me to write about and what they think is a waste of their time….thanks for taking the time to help me out.

Green Olive and Arichoke Tapenade

Day 129: Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

May 9, 2011

You know that I am always on the look out for a new appetizer. I am of the belief that appetizers should be listed as a food group. Appetizers are fun foods to eat, usually small in size and big on flavor. The thing to remember is that appetizers do not need to be coated in cheese to make them good. You can find appetizers that do not have any dairy products in them. When I find an appetizer that is without dairy I want to cheer it from the roof tops. Then add in something that has tons of flavor, I have a home run!

The Moosewood cookbook does just that. The creators of the Moosewood brand is based in New York. They have found a combination of vegetarian food with flavor. I enjoy the variety of their dishes and most of the items I am able to find in our local grocery store. Eating vegetarian does not mean just eating tofu. You can get full off of many other interesting everyday items. This cookbook should be a staple in the vegetarian kitchen but also in the average home cooks. What we would consider side dishes like Two Carrot salad, or Chilean Artichokes would make most meat eaters drool. When I turn vegetarian, this will be my go-to cookbook!

The Ruling: We liked it….well those of us who like green olives. I like the fact that it was made with green olives instead of black, which is the norm with tapenades. My hubby even liked it enough to pack in his lunch the next day. We just served with some pita chips and called it good. I think it would taste great on top of chicken or fish as well. Because I have a food processor, it took me minutes to prepare!

Green Olive and Artichoke Tapenade, page 209

Ingredients:

• 5 artichoke hearts (14 ounce can, drained)
• 1 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1 cup pitted green or Spanish olives
• 1 garlic clove, pressed or minced
• 2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon peel (optional)
• 3 to 4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• cracked or ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor, whirl the artichoke hearts, walnuts, olives, garlic, parsley, and lemon peel, if using, for a few seconds until everything is uniformly minced. Scrape down the sides if necessary, add the lemon juice and live oil, and process for a few more seconds until the mixture forms a rough paste (not a smooth puree but a cohesive paste). Season with pepper to taste.
2. Tapenade is best served at room temperature and can be stored, covered and refrigerated, for up to a week.

To Joyful, Simplified Living,

MS. Simplicity

MS. Simplicity, also known as Melissa Schmalenberger  operates her business as I Did it with MS. Simplicity.  She is a Professional Organizer based out of Fargo, ND and her website can be found at www.ididit-fargo.com .  Need to contact MS. Simplicity privately, you can email her at melissa@ididit-fargo.com.  For daily organizing tips find the MS. Simplicity fan page  here.

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