Tomato – Parmesan Appetizer

A few years back, when we were on our cruise in Hawaii, the cafeteria of the ship offered a roasted tomato and Parmesan dish for breakfast that I loved.  I recently have been addicted to Pinterest and found a version of these nuggets there.  Here is my twist. It would be great for finger food at a brunch, breakfast, or other gathering.

Tomato-Parmesan Appetizers

• 3 tomatoes, sliced (on thick side- about 3 slices per average tomato- 5 in the larger ones)
• salt
• pepper
• oregano
• garlic powder
• Parmesan cheese
• drizzle of olive oil

Preheat oven to 450F.  Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil.  Line the sheet with the tomato slices.

Season the slices of tomatoes with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a dash of oregano.  Top the tomato slices each with 1-2 teaspoons of shredded Parmesan cheese (or more if you like).  Drizzle with olive oil.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 450 F.  Cool slightly and enjoy.

 

Printable Recipe

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream

Part 3: Main Course:

1. Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce (Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons- Julia Child)
2. Buttered Green Beans I (Haricots Verts a l’ Anglaise- Julia Child)
3. Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a pinch of Garlic (Gratin Dauphinois – Julia Child)

We really liked the scalloped potatoes and buttered beans.  I have had more flavorful chicken, but it was not bad.  The sauce was good.  The recipe is pretty involved for the chicken, but it was certainly still in the good category.  Julia Child really explains her recipes well.  The steps are well spelled out.

Chicken Breasts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce

(Supremes de Volaille aux Champignons- adapted from Julia Child – Mastering the Art of French Cooking pg 269)

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 5 Tbsp butter
• 1 Tbsp minced shallots
• 1/4 lb sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 6 chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp salt
• pinch of pepper

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup beef broth
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup whipping cream
• salt and pepper
• Lemon juice as needed
• 2 Tbsp fresh minced parsley

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400- 425 F (I had it at 425 for the potatoes)

For the Chicken:  Heat the butter in a large skillet over moderate heat until it is foaming.  Add the minced shallot and cook for a minute or two, without browning the shallot.  Add the mushrooms and cook stirring from time to time, but not browning the mushrooms.  Season with salt.

Sprinkle the chicken breast halves with lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.  Quickly roll the chicken in the butter and mushrooms.  Butter a piece of waxed paper on one side.  Lay the paper buttered side down onto the chicken breasts.  Cover the skillet with a lid and put in the preheated oven.  After 6 minutes press your finger on the chicken breasts to test if they are done.  (If the chicken is soft to touch it still needs time to cook, if it springs back they are ready).  Remove the chicken to a warm platter and prepare the sauce.

For the sauce:  Pour the beef broth and white wine into the skillet with the mushrooms and butter.  Bring it to boil and reduce the liquid until it is syrupy.  Add the whipping cream and reduce liquid to thicken slightly.  Turn off the heat and taste adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper and lemon juice if desired.  Pour the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with parsley.  Serve while hot.

Printable Recipe

Buttered Green Beans I

(Haricots Verts a l’ Anglaise- (adapted from Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 444)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

3 lbs hot blanched green beans

salt and pepper, to taste

4 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces

Preparation:

Cook the green beans in a covered saucepan with 1 inch of water, and 1 tsp of salt.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Steam the green beans for about 10 minutes, or until crisp tender.  Pour off the water.  Heat the beans to evaporate the excess water.  Season with salt and pepper and toss.  Pour into a prepared serving dish.  Dot the green beans with pieces of butter.  Serve while hot.

Printable Recipe

Scalloped Potatoes with Milk, Cheese, and a pinch of Garlic

Gratin Dauphinois – (adapted from Julia Child Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 523)

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

• 6-7 cups Russet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8″ slices
• 1/2 clove garlic, cut in two
• 4 Tbsp butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp pepper
• 4 oz grated Swiss cheese (optional, but if you do omit it increase the butter by 2 Tbsp)
• 1 cup boiling milk

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Peel and slice the potatoes 1/8 inch thick.  Keep them in a bowl of water until you need them to prevent browning.  Drain and dry on paper towels when ready to use.

Rub the bottom and sides of the baking dish with the slices of garlic to give it a little flavor.  Coat the baking dish with butter.  Place 1/2 of the sliced potatoes in a neat layer along the bottom of the baking dish.  Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with 1/2 of the cheese and dot with half the butter.  Repeat with a layer of potatoes, season, sprinkle with cheese and butter.  Pour the boiling milk over the potatoes and bake at 425F for 20-30 minutes.  If they are just underdone, cover with foil and allow them to sit for about 10 minutes while you finish other parts of your meal – or bake them another 5 minutes.

Printable Recipe

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Here is a recipe from allrecipes.com.  It is one of the best recipe sites on the internet in my opinion.  Recipes are rated by members and if you choose a 4 or 5 star recipe you have a pretty good rate of success.  In my organic produce box, I had a nice head of cauliflower.  I don’t LOVE the vegetable, but this recipe is good.  I think next time I will add cooked crumbled bacon to the dish just before broiling the Parmesan cheese.  My husband supports that idea, as all things are made better with bacon!  I did not have fresh parsley on hand and omitted it.  For the original recipe click on the allrecipes link above.  I included the change with the bacon (which I didn’t actually do this time, but think it would work nicely).

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 6

• 2 Tbsp minced garlic (about 6 large cloves)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 large head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 4 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 450F.  Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray.

Combine the minced garlic, olive oil and cauliflower in a large zip-lock bag and shake to mix.  Pour the cauliflower into the casserole dish.  Season with salt and pepper.

Bake the cauliflower for 25 minutes, stirring half way through cooking time.  Stir in the bacon crumbles and top with Parmesan cheese.  Broil under high broil for 3-5 minutes, until the cheese is golden.

Printable Recipe

 

Grilled Asparagus

I love asparagus!  I think it is one of the best veggies around.  When asparagus is readily available, I smile.  Two years ago though, I started to develop an allergy to it.  I first noticed that when I would eat asparagus my scalp would be itchy for about an hour after eating them.  I figured maybe it was because I ate canned asparagus that time.  Maybe it was the solution they can it in.  So I rinsed them and ate them- still an itchy scalp.  Okay.. maybe I can eat fresh.. nope.. itchy scalp.  But hey an hour later I am feeling fine again right?.. it is a small price to pay!  I continued to eat asparagus from time to time.. only each time I ate them, my allergy would get more severe.  Now I break out in full time hives, so I don’t eat it as often.  Recently I got a box of organic produce and it had asparagus in it.  Of course.. now that I had it, I had to eat it right?  It is after all, asparagus!  I popped a Benadryl before starting to cook.  After eating only two spears of asparagus,I still was itchy, but I didn’t get hives!  Sniff.  I am getting itchy as I write this   I sure hope I don’t develop an allergy to Avocado- or worse yet: bacon!  That would be the worst!

Preparation:

Wash the asparagus and remove about 1/2 inch of the stem if it is woody, otherwise just trim the ends.  Mine were small and not at all woody, so they only needed a trim.

I heated a grill pan and placed the asparagus on it.  Drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned with ground sea salt and ground pepper.  Turning them every few minutes until they looked grilled with a few char marks.  Place on a platter and season with additional salt and pepper.  Serve.  Enjoy (them for me- for I will be taking a break from eating them again).

Grilled Zucchini

An easy way to prepare zucchini is to slice it lengthwise into long strips and to grill them on a prepared and preheated grill pan.  To prepare the grill pan spray it with some cooking spray and after it is preheated lay the zucchini on the grill pan.  Season with ground sea salt and freshly ground pepper.  Cook the zucchini turning it every few minutes until done.  This is really quick – 10 minutes maximum.  Place in a bowl and sprinkle quality balsamic vinegar over them.  Season with more salt and pepper if desired.

Guacamole

There is nothing like freshly made guacamole.  I love to have chips with my guacamole, not guacamole with my chips!  Two of my three children also love the stuff.  The other likes to eat the avocado just by itself.  Also a good treat, but takes less effort.  The key to great guacamole is starting with fantastic avocados.  I happen to be fortunate to live in Southern California, where it is easy to find great avocados, but even then, you can find some that are less fantastic.  I highly recommend Haas Avocados.  They are consistently good.  They are large and buttery.  To pick a good avocado you want one that is still firm, but not hard.  If you press on the skin it should give a little (not a lot)  If it is soft and mushy the flavor is also less great in my opinion, but don’t worry if you can only find ones that are hard as baseballs, you can still buy them.  Take them home and put them in a paper bag with a ripe banana and in a day or two you will have a perfect avocado too.  You don’t need to buy any seasoning packets – use all fresh ingredients and you will have the best results.

A tip – to remove the seed can be a tricky process and sometimes dangerous – I have cut myself several times trying to remove that sucker!  Cut the avocado in half starting at the top and cutting around the bottom to other side and to the top again. Twist the two halves apart.  The flesh should be green – it may have some brown spots, but typically don’t take away from the taste, I cut them out because I don’t want brown chunks in my guacamole.  Place the half that still has the seed in it on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to tap the blade into the seed.  Give the knife a rotating twist and the seed should loosen and come off (on your sharp knife). To remove the flesh of the avocado from the skin simply run a large spoon along the edge and scoop it out into a bowl.

Becky’s Homemade Guacamole

Serves 6 hungry dippers

• 3 large ripe Haas avocados,
• 1 Roma Tomato, diced small
• 3 cloves of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, white ribs removed and seeds removed, diced finely (wear gloves to protect your hands)
• 2 Tbsp minced red onion
• 1/2 – 1 lime, juiced (depending on size)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp cilantro if you have it on hand and like it

Preparation:

Use a fork to mash the avocado flesh in a bowl.  Add the chopped onion, tomato, garlic, jalapeno pepper and stir into the avocado.  Add lime juice and cilantro if desired.  Season with salt and pepper, stir and taste.  Add more seasoning or lime if needed.  Chill and serve with tortilla chips, or serve with tacos or any other Mexican dish.

Some say that if you place the avocado seed in the guacamole while it is in the fridge that it will not turn brown, but I have found that if you cover it with plastic wrap and lay the plastic wrap on the guacamole so there is little air around the dip that it will stay the vibrant green that you want in a good guacamole.

Enjoy!

Printable Recipe

Ratatouille

No, there isn’t a rat in this dish, nor was it prepared by one as in the popular Disney movie! It is a wonderful vegetable side though.  I found the recipe on allrecipes (of course).  I did make a few changes to it though.  I used Asian eggplant, since I had heard it is less bitter than the traditional eggplant you find (Most grocery stores carry them, but if you must use a purple one try to find a smallish one that will be less woody and taste less bitter). I also omitted green peppers.  Instead of layering them like the recipe called for I arranged them in a circle in the oval baking dish I was using.  I increased the amounts for more servings.

I liked this dish.  I may even like eggplant! It is a little time consuming to arrange it nicely, but if you are in a hurry arrange them however you wish.

Ratatouille

adapted from allrecipes.com

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 5 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp dried parsley flakes
• 2 Asian eggplants (larger than a cucumber, but much like the shape of one and a little more pinkish in color)
• 1 tsp Kosher salt
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 zucchini, sliced
• 1/2 of a sweet Maui onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 3 large tomatoes, thinly sliced

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350F.  Spray the baking dish with cooking spray.

Heat the olive oil in a large non stick skillet.  Sauté the garlic until lightly browned.  Add the sliced eggplant and dried parsley.  Sauté until the eggplant is tender, but still holds its shape.  Season with salt.

Arrange the eggplant in an oval dish starting along the outside edge and working in. Alternate the slices of eggplant with slices of zucchini, tomatoes, onion, and mushrooms. As you work, add in more slices to make the vegetables almost stand on edge, filling in where you have gaps.  Sprinkle the the vegetables with Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

Bake in a preheated oven for 45 minutes.  Enjoy.

Printable Recipe

I will make the dish again with the changes I made.

Pasta Salad

Here is another lovely Pasta Salad that I like to serve with BBQ foods.  It is a variation on the Veggie salad, but with tri-color rotini pasta.

Pasta Salad

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 12-16 oz tri-color Rotini Pasta
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into bite size chunks (remove the seeds if they are large)
• 1 package grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 large yellow bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 can ripe olives, drained
• 3/4 cup Italian dressing (I used a roasted red pepper Italian dressing that is quite yummy)

Instructions:

Cook the pasta according to package directions.  Drain and shock with cold water to bring the temperature down.  Combine the pasta, veggies and the dressing. Toss.  Chill and serve.

Veggie Salad

It is Memorial Day.  For lunch we grilled hot dogs.. well actually we did it stove top, because our back yard is being taken over by thousands of angry bees, who have decided our house would make a rather nice home for them.. well, not if I can help it — we will be soon let them know that we don’t really want them squatting without paying rent.  A friend suggested, I light the house on fire as smoke and lots of it calms bees down — good advice. He also told me to tell the firefighters to “buzz off” when they get here.  Ah yes, with friends like this… anyway… there is always a cause for excitement at our home.  We had lunch and I made salad.

Becky’s Veggie Salad

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 large cucumber, peeled and cut into bite size chunks (remove the seeds if they are large)
• 1 package grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 large yellow bell pepper, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 can ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing (I used a roasted red pepper Italian dressing that is quite yummy)

Instructions:

Combine the veggies and the dressing. Toss.  Chill and serve.

Taking the Fear out of Artichokes

For quite a few years I avoided making artichokes myself.  I didn’t know what to do with them.  They seemed prickly and uninviting!  When one of my daughters was born I had a friend visit from Fresno to meet the new baby and she showed me how to make artichokes. They are too good not to eat!  Fresh ones are so much better than the ones in the can and really don’t take much effort to make.

Here is a quick guideline for those of you who also fear the “choke”.

Fill a large pot with about 1 inch of water.  Cut the end of the stem of the artichoke and wash it.  Remove some of the very outer leaves, if you don’t like the sharp ends of the leaf trim them with kitchen shears, or use caution when you handle them.  Trim the leaves that are attached to the stem and clean the stem up a little scraping the outside layer with a knife.   Season the water with fresh lemon juice and garlic seasoning or oregano and a drizzle of olive oil.  Place the artichoke(s) in the water.  Heat to a boil, place a tight fitting lid on the pot and reduce the heat.  Cook the artichokes at a simmer for around 25 minutes.  To check if they are done tug at a leaf near the base of the artichoke it it easily comes off the artichoke is cooked enough to eat.  Remove the artichokes with some tongs and let them drip dry a little before you remove them to a plate.  Many people eat the artichoke with butter or my favorite: mayonnaise.  Do what you like.  There are plenty of recipes out there for dipping sauces, or pasta recipes that use cooked artichokes.  The ideas are limitless.

To eat the artichoke.  Pull away the larger outer leaves, dip the base of the leaf into your dipping sauce and bite down on the leaf, pulling the leaf out of your mouth and scraping the artichoke flesh.  Repeat until you have the purplish tender leaves near the choke.  At this point get a spoon and gently remove the leaves and choke and dispose of them, they are not edible.  The artichoke bottoms (and stem) are really good.  Cut them into smaller portions and dip away.

Here are some pictures to help with the process (I am sorry for the poor quality of pictures, it was night and I was hungry!)

The cooked Artichoke

Leaves that pull away easily

Center purple leaves and choke

Remove the choke with a spoon

Cleaned Artichoke bottom