Sausage stuffed peppers (again) and salad!

Just a quick blog to remind everyone to definitely take advantage of the summer season and the fresh peppers that are available.  As you have seen we tend to love our stuffed peppers.   I went back to my old stand bye after I bought Santa Fe chicken sausage and couldn't decide what else to do with them.

I did not have black beans and rice to stuff along with the sausage so I used shredded cheese and panko to hold together the mixture.

I personally prefer the black beans and rice but this worked just fine.  I still roasted in our small oven at 450 for ~45-50mins.  I served with cheese quesadillas and a salad.

A quick note about the salad.  We normally buy a lot of the Dole Chopped salad mixes as they are so easy to bring out and add on to any meal.  Yesterday, I was at Whole Food's shopping and they do not have salad kits.  I chose a romaine salad and decided to make my own from what I had around the house!

Don't be afraid to go against the norm when making a salad.  I went with what I thought would taste good to me and compliment the peppers.  I chose artichoke hearts, avocado and roasted garlic with a sun dried tomato & artichoke dressing (not pictured).  I have to say it was fantastic and I realized that I do not need to depend on the pre-made salad kits all the time!

Eggplant and sausage parm

Eggplant parm isn't a dish that screams summer, but with some beautiful looking eggplant showing up at the farmer's market, I really had no choice but to make it.

Eggplant & Sausage Parm

2 large Eggplants

3 Cilantro Chicken sausages (casing removed)

1 Mozzarella ball

1 cup tomato basil pasta sauce

1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

8 basil leaves

Peel and cut the eggplant into slices.  In a saute pan over medium-high heat cook the eggplant for about a minute on both sides.  In an oven-proof pan, spread a layer of sausage on the bottom of the pan, completely covering it.  Put any leftover sausage in the saute pan and cook.  Put a layer of eggplant over the sausage, cutting some pieces as needed to create a full layer.  Slice the mozzarella ball and make a layer with the slices of cheese.  Spoon tomato sauce over the cheese and then cover with foil and cook at 425F for thirty minutes.  Take it out of the oven and remove the foil ... then top with the parmesan and cooked sausage.  Switch the oven to broil and put the parm back in until the top bubbles and the edges get crispy.  Enjoy!

Steak and "starchy, veggie goodness"

I have talked before of my love for the Whole Foods dry aged NY Strip, and I just want to take a minute to reiterate that ... it's AWESOME!

For this dinner, I prepared it simply with a little black dress (salt and pepper) and grilled it.  The steak was definitely the star of the show, however the veggie mix was a good counter weight to it.

Starchy, veggie goodness
1 14.5oz can Cannellini beans (drained)
1 bunch collard greens
8-10 medium shiitake mushrooms
2 small yellow squash
1 small yellow onion
1 jalapeno pepper

I washed and chopped all the veggies.  In a saute pan I added some oil and cooked over medium high heat.  I started with the mushrooms, onions & jalapeno. and once the mushrooms had released their water and pulled back in I added the squash and the beans.  I cooked the squash and beans for about five minutes, using a wooden spoon to agitate and then added the greens and covered to allow them to cook down.  I splashed a little white vinegar and hot sauce on top and stirred to finish and then it was ready to plate ... enjoy!

Cheesy stuffed peppers

There's something fun about stuffed peppers, and these were no different.  For these guys I went with a little bit of a different take than normal.  I used bell peppers, instead of the usual Anaheim peppers, and by slicing the tops off just below where the stem comes through I was able to pop the stem out and still maintain the top to go back on the peppers.

I stuffed the peppers with a mix of (left over) black beans and rice, cilantro chicken sausage and cheese.  Once I had the stuffing done, I topped with a little more cheese and then put the "lids" back on.  Into the oven they went at 425F for about 30 minutes (the peppers nicely charred and the cheese bubbly).

Cachaça cocktail for the fourth of July? Why not?

In honor of Brazil playing Columbia on the 4th, I decided to make something Brazil themed to go along with the game.  What could be more Brazilian than something with Cachaça ... given that we were having people over and I didn't want to be making drinks all night, we went with something that was a punch.

Shells found some Cachaça cocktail recipes online, so we decided to try one out.

Cachaça Cocktail with Summer Berries
1 bottle Cachaça
1 bottle St. Germaine (elderflower liqueur)
Sour Mix
Strawberries
Blueberries
Cherries
Grapes
Blackberries

Muddle fruit in a pitcher (I used about 1/3 of each container, but you can do more or less to your liking).  Add Cachaça and St. Germaine, stir well and top with a splash of sour.  I added a couple of big ice cubes to chill down the mixture in the pitcher a bit without watering it down too much.

Using toothpicks make skewers of fruit that people can use to garnish their glass.  Enjoy!

What a catch on some Tuna

Even though Shells is not a big tuna fan, sometimes it just looks too good to pass up, especially when Whole Foods is having a fire sale on it (seriously, $11.00/pound instead of the regular $23.99).  Since I know that even that good a deal won't make it taste better to her, I got Shells a piece of white fish.

The fish went on to the grill and I cooked up a batch of greens and did some smashed popper potatoes with cheese and hot sauce to go with our fish.

I cooked one side of Shells fish and then added mine to the grill once I flipped hers.  This allowed me to cook my piece to a perfect rare, mmmm was it tasty.

Scallops, beans and veg ... yep a pretty standard night for us.

This was a simple dinner that turned out to be super tasty without being too filling.  I made my standard white beans and served them on top of sauteed asparagus and greens.  I seared some beautiful 10 - 20 count scallops (with a little butter and truffle salt) and served them over the beans and veggies.

Squash Blossom fun

Coming back from traveling, I wanted to have a leisurely dinner with a couple of courses that wouldn't be too heavy.  I headed off to Whole Foods to see what I could find while Shells went to the farmer's market to do the same.

Shells came back with a cool surprise, squash blossoms!!  These are fun flowers that are very common in Mexico ... but I haven't seem them recently here at home.  I decided to try and prepare them two ways: fried and roasted.  The roasted ones I stuffed with a little bit of cheese, while the fried ones I just dipped in a simple batter and fried straight.  They were both good but the roasted ones got a bit wilted and limp, in the future I am going to try to combine the crispy goodness of the fried ones with the cheesy middle.

For the second course I picked up a new item from the frozen section at Whole Foods ... bacon wrapped scallops on a cedar plank.  I roasted them until the bacon was crispy, not too shabby.

For the final course I continued my summer obsession with skirt steak but doing grilled skirt steak over refried black beans with an avocado salsa.

Squash Blossoms Fritti
8 squash blossoms
8 cubes of cheese (I used Mt Tam)
1 cup flour
1/4 cup water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Gentle peel open the flower part of the squash blossoms and stuff with one cube of cheese each.  Mix the flour, salt, pepper and water in a bowl and whisk until smooth with a consistency similar to pancake batter, adding a little more water if needed.  Heat oil in a saute pan over medium high heat, dredge each blossom through the flour mixture and add to the hot oil.  Fry the blossoms until golden brown, enjoy!

So I learned that greens & noodles are an acquired taste ...

So I decided I wanted a little bit of a lighter dinner, the idea I came up with sounded better in principle than it turned out.

I found a great looking piece of black grouper to start with ... then went and picked up some greens and shiitake mushrooms ... but then i hit a little wall.  I normally just add white beans and call it a day ... but I wasn't quite feeling that for this meal; so instead, I decided to throw it all on top of some pasta ...

I boiled up some thick noodles, mafaldine, and then sauteed down a nice big batch of greens and mushrooms.  About halfway through cooking the greens and mushrooms, I added a 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes and a good splash of white wine and let it continue to cook down to ensure I had a nice sauce.

I grilled the fish and then piled on the pasta, veggie "sauce" and then topped it with the fish.  I served the main course with broiled avocado and a salad.

The first bite led me to my eventual problem with this dish ... the greens had more texture than either the pasta or the fish.  Overpowering both of the component parts, the greens would probably have been more at home with beans, or in smaller slices.  I may not recommend the greens in this again, but the rest of the dish was great ... enjoy!

Ever wondered what to do with patty pan squash or just wonder what is patty pan squash?

After a number of summer's going to the farmer's market almost every Saturday I would always eye up these strangely shaped squash and ponder what would you do with them.  I come to find out they are called Patty Pan or sun burst squash.

This weekend I decided to buy a couple and find something fun to do with them.  I did a bit of searching on line and I found that the only way to not destroy the fun look was to stuff them. There are plenty of different recipes online for patty pan squash so feel free to look around to find something a little more "exciting".  I decided to just mix together the black beans, rice, some shredded cheese and a few roasted garlic cloves (seriously new favority ingredient)!  I planned to serve as a side to my meal.  

I preheated our small counter top oven to 350 degrees.  I place on a rack in a shallow pan. 

I covered the squash with foil and roasted for ~45 mins.  The time will depend on the size of squash.  I pulled the foil for the last 10 mins.  They were done when the squash were tender.  I suggest setting a timer for 20 to 30 mins at a time to watch progress. 

Finished product....I served with sliced chicken and a chopped salad.  Enjoy the summer vegetables that are available.   

Send us a note if you have a question on how to prepare a fun find from the farmer's market!  We would be happy to give you a a few ideas!  

Caprese salad anyone?

For some unknown reason as I shopped on Sunday morning after the gym I felt inspiration for a summery and relatively healthy lunch.  This food inspiration must be what Tom feels all the time when he shops...I did not get that gene :-).  Usually when I'm shopping I just get hungry and end up with the most random of groceries.  Anyway....I decided on an heirloom tomato caprese salad.  I started with a recipe I found on Epicurious from there I added a few other ingredients.  I'm still early on in my cooking with out a recipe ability so I have found that I start with a base recipe and add & subtract as I deem worthwhile.

So I followed the recipe and cut the tomatoes intowedges.

I then added the remaining ingredients to make the dressing.  I did add a bit of balsamic vinegar as well as my favorite ingedient recently..roasted garlic!  I let the mixture sit for the requested 30 minutes.

I bought mozzarella instead of burrata for the caprese.  I also served with a few slices of french baguette (not pictured).

This wasn't as quick of a meal that I had hoped but was well worth the wait!  I highly suggest a turn at this salad while we are in heirloom tomato season!

Recipe below:
Ingredients

4 large heirloom tomatoes (about 2 1/2 pounds) or 4 to 5 large plum tomatoes
fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup torn fresh basil leaves plus additional whole leaves for garnish
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4 (2.5-ounce) rounds burrata cheese

Preparation

Cut tomatoes into wedges and place in large bowl. Sprinkle with fleur de sel and pepper. Crush oregano between palms to release flavor; add to tomatoes. Add 1/4 cup basil and olive oil and mix well. Let stand at room temperature at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Place 1 burrata cheese round in center of each plate. Fan tomatoes around cheese, dividing equally. Drizzle with dressing from bowl. Garnish with additional basil leaves and serve.

A summertime quick & easy pasta

If you are in the need of a super quick dinner or a pasta salad for a picnic you have to try the pasta recipe I found!  I actually made this pasta more complicated than the recipe because I wanted to cook up the tomatoes for some additional flavor!  I found this recipe on Food & Wine Website.  Pasta with Tomatoes & Mozzarella

I followed the recipe pretty closely.  I adjusted the measurements to account for the fact I was not making 1lb of pasta.  This recipe is so flexible that you could make many variations to "spice" it up.  Food & Wine made suggestions for readers.  I could easily see you including chicken, sausage, or prosciutto to the pasta to up the protein content.

I was only able to get fresh cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market this week (personally I like better than vine ripened) so I went with those and cut in half.  I also decided to saute them in the garlic rather than mix in uncooked.  

I bought the container of mozzarella balls the size of a ping pong ball.  I cut those in half.  Lastly, I used my roasted garlic again :-).  The balsamic vinegar added such a nice sweetness and flavor to the pasta and if you love olives like me you will not be disappointed with this addition.  

This had to be the quickest pasta I have ever made and plan to keep in my back pocket when I need a really quick dinner. 

 Please give it a try! 

Recipe - Thank you Food & Wine!

1. 1/2 cup halved and pitted black olives
2. 4 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3. 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
4. 1/2 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper
5. 1 pound spaghetti
6. 1/2 cup olive oil
7. 3 cloves garlic, minced
8. 2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes (about 6), chopped
9. 3/4 pound salted fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch cubes, at room temperature
10. 1 1/4 cups chopped fresh basil

1. In a large glass or stainless-steel bowl, combine the chopped tomatoes with the mozzarella, basil, olives, balsamic vinegar, salt, and pepper.
2. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the spaghetti until just done, about 12 minutes. Drain, add to the tomato mixture, and toss.
3. Heat the oil in a small frying pan over moderately low heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Pour the oil over the pasta and toss again.

NOTES Variations Add some drained capers, chopped red onion, or grated Parmesan to the pasta.