Penne with Feta and Spring Vegetables

This recipe came from Everyday Food. It was great as a dish for our Mothers Day Feast!


Ingredients
Serves 4
Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 ounces penne rigate (ridged) I used whole wheat
1 pound asparagus, trimmed, cut into 1-inch lengths
1 pound peeled and deveined frozen shrimp, thawed omitted
8 ounces snow peas, trimmed and halved on the diagonal
3 tablespoons olive oil (preferably extra-virgin)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh mint leaves

Directions

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook penne 5 minutes less than al dente. Add asparagus; cook 3 minutes. Add shrimp and snow peas; cook 2 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water; drain pasta mixture, and return to pot.
To pasta mixture, add oil, lemon juice, garlic, and cup reserved pasta water. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Gently mix in feta and mint; adjust to desired consistency with some pasta water as needed. Serve immediately.

I also added about 1/2 a package of cooked bacon - yum!

BEST Tomato Soup EVAH!

I adore tomato soup. LOVE.IT. Ive tried to make it a few times and it was always good... but not stellar. This one though takes the cake. What is the secret? Well I think there are two. One - the sherry. It gave the soup a great flavor! Second - anything with this amount of butter and cream cant HELP but be good! ;)

I got the recipe from the Pioneer Woman... her stuff always looks great!

Sherried Tomato Soup

6 tablespoons melted butter

1 medium onion, diced

1 46-ounce bottle or can tomato juice

2 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes

1 to 3 tablespoons chicken base

3 to 6 tablespoons sugar

Pinch of salt

Black Pepper

1 cup cooking sherry

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

chopped fresh parsley

chopped fresh basil

Saute diced onions in butter until transluscent. Add canned tomatoes. Add tomato juice, sugar, pinch of salt, and black pepper and stir. Bring to a near boil, then turn off heat. Add in sherry and cream and stir. Add in parsley and basil to taste, adjust other seasoning, and serve!

I omitted the parsley.

Mother's Day Menu

This (and a few more recipes to come) illustrates HOW badly I fell off the blogging wagon last month! OOPS!

For Mother's Day, we had my parents, grandpa, and siblings over for a late lunch. The menu was great (if I do say so myself!), went over well, everything came out well (always a worry when cooking for a crowd) and was good for time management - I didnt have to KILL myself to get it all done one time!

So what was this fab menu you ask?

10 Grain Rolls
Tomato Basil Soup
Fruit Platter - Pineapple, Mango, and Strawberries tossed with some lime juice and mint
Pasta with Feta and Asparagus and Snow Peas
Lamb Chops with Sundried Tomato Butter
Tiramisu

YUM!

Homegrown Gourmet NINE

Last month, Katie at KBK Bakery was our fabulous host for Homegrown Gourmet, volume 8: Peanut Butter.

Let me first back up. Many moons ago, Erika at Bean's Bistro started this challenge with the mighty sandwich. Her idea was to highlight local cuisine, local products, local whatever! Each month(ish) we are treated to a culinary themed tour!

So far, we have been challenged by sandwiches, soups, pies/tarts, stews, quick breads and breakfast, potatos, and peanut butter. Lucky me, I am hosting my second time! I wanted to try to come up with something that would allow everyone some creativity, let us really flex our collective homegrown muscles! I have been wrestling with my choice for the past 48 hours... drinks? Burgers? cookies? Salad? Pizza? What to do, what to do... Finally I decided, I kept coming back to it. A dish that can be really customized in a million ways... something that exists in so many cultures around the world...

HOMEGROWN GOURMET NINE IS....

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Ready for it?

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You sure???

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Drumroll please...

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BBBLLLLRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR (thats a drumroll FYI)

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*********!PASTA!**********

Noodley goodness! It can be spaghetti or penne or raviolis or any other pasta that strikes your fancy. It can be homemade if you are so inclined, or from the store but just make sure that your dish, somehow, is HomeGrown Gourmet!

THE RULES:

1. Anyone can play!

2. A theme will be picked by the host. Participants will make a dish that follows the theme and that somehow represents their home region - town, state, area. Representation can feature a local ingredient, be a traditional dish from your area, or be a creative twist.

3. Participants will have 3-4 weeks (host discretion) to complete their recipes and post them to their blog (or email the pics and text), and notify the host. The host will then post the results and then let everyone know via email or message board the results are up!

4. An explanation of your dish is required; it can be a story about the local custom or ingredient, how you came about eating/making the recipe, or an explanation about how your creative dish fits the theme.

5. Fresh and local foods are encouraged!

6. When the round is done, the host will announce their favorite dish by updating their blog. Favorite is completely subjective to the host- no one expects the host to make and taste test all the dishes, it is just something that strikes the host’s fancy! The creator of the fave gets the honor of hosting the next round, if they so choose!

To participate in Homegrown Gourmet #9, create a pasta dish that somehow relates to your home. Post about it in your blog and tell the world what makes your recipe Homegrown… be sure to link back to this post. Then send me an email at megpug at gmail dot com with “Homegrown Gourmet 9″ in the subject line. I will reply to all emails to confirm receipt (so if you dont get a reply, comment and let me know!)

Please include the following in your e-mail: your name, your location, your blog name and URL, and a permalink to your entry. Don’t forget to attach a picture (preferably 250 x 250) of your dish to the email if you dont blog! (Not a blogger and still want to enter? Why aren’t you blogging already? Come on, you know you want to do it. All the cool kids are doing it these days… what? still no? Ok, email me all the details and I’ll post for you.)

Deadline for the event is MONDAY JUNE 30 2008!!

*NOTE: Extended Deadline!!*

Amano Chocolate!

MMMMMMMMM Chocolate... I was lucky enough to be a winner for Blake Make's most recent chocolate giveaway! That meant that I got a lovely little package of 3 (thats right, not 1... not 2... THREE!) bars of fabulous dark Amano Chocolates. WOW. Very yummy! Many other winners have made brownies, cakes, etc... me? I couldnt do it. Really good dark choloate like this, to me, is meant to be enjoyed in its purest form :)

I am almost done with the third bar now. I have enjoyed a little corner here and a piece there mostly at night as a bedtime treat. And treat it is! This chocolate is great! My favorite was the Madagascar one - smooth with no acidity. And I loved the packaging - I felt like Willy Wonka pulling out that bright gold! Love it and thanks!

Moroccan Chicken Stew with Sweet Potatos

I pulled this recipe from Everyday Food last fall and boy I am glad I hung onto it! It was SO. GOOD. The flavors were just perfect. The cinammon and ginger came through without being overpowering (as I sometimes find fresh ginger can be) thanks to simmering in the stew whole. This was a great great meal, I would highly recommend! Easy, quick, and yummy for something healthy and different!

Prep: 15 minutes

Total: 45 minutes

Ingredients
Serves 4
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 1 1/2 pounds)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 piece fresh ginger (2 inches long), peeled
1 cinnamon stick
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
Pinch of saffron (optional)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup couscous
Cilantro sprigs, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Place flour in a wide, shallow bowl. Season chicken with salt and pepper; dredge in flour, shaking off excess. In a 5-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, and cook until browned, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.

Add onion, ginger, and cinnamon to pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to soften, 2 to 3 minutes. Return chicken to pot. Add broth, sweet potatoes, and, if using, saffron. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer until chicken is cooked through and sweet potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Discard ginger and cinnamon. Stir in lemon juice, and season stew with salt and pepper.
While stew is simmering, prepare couscous according to package instructions. Serve chicken stew with couscous, garnished with cilantro, if desired.

I did use saffron (had some in the pantry already) and the cilantro.

Chicken-Fajita Tostadas

This recipe comes from Everyday Food - I made it for cinco de mayo (yeah... Im a bit behind :( )It was very very good! Original recipe follows, only change was that I mistakenly mixed all the salsa in with the veggies - by accident but it turned out well!

Prep: 10 minutesTotal: 45 minutes
Ingredients

Serves 4

2 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels
1 cup prepared fresh salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
4 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. On foil, combine onions, bell peppers, corn, 1/4 cup salsa, and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.
Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add chicken, stir to combine, and continue to roast until warmed through, 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken and vegetable mixture to a serving bowl, discarding foil (reserve sheet).
Arrange tortillas on sheet. Dividing evenly, brush with remaining tablespoon oil; top with cheese. Bake until edges are golden and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes.
Dividing evenly, top tortillas with chicken-vegetable mixture and remaining 3/4 cup salsa. Serve with cilantro-lime rice, if desired.