butternut squash soup with caramelized onions

I had to check and double check that I hadn’t posted this recipe before. It was one of my favorite soups from last winter, and perfect for a chilly weekend when we needed something light and warm after all of our Thanksgiving feast-ivities.

Based on Ina Garten’s Butternut Squash and Apple Soup recipe, the final product is creamy with a little texture in it, a sweet and savory tug-of-war match of round flavors on your tastebuds. And if you’re like me, you’ll be very liberal with your black pepper grinder for just a bit of bite.

Shall we begin? Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

For 2-4 people, peel and chop one butternut squash and one apple in same-size cubes.  Honeycrisp, Gala, Granny Smith, whatever is fresh and tastes good to you. Your cuts don’t have to be perfect, but keep them about the same size and shape. My advice to you is use a really sharp knife because all kinds of squash can be tricky to chop. And make sure you get all the core and seeds from the apple! Mix them with olive oil, salt, and pepper until the pieces are well coated. Then spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet and cook for about 20-25 minutes, turning once in the middle. This is standard practice for roasting veggies, and in my opinion, roasting really brings out the optimal flavor.

While your stars of the show roast, heat up a pot that’s wide on the bottom but still tall enough to hold your soup. Peel and thinly slice an onion (mince for less texture) and sauté in about a tablespoon of olive oil or butter on medium-high heat until glossy. Make sure to feed the onions a pinch of salt to help release their natural sugars. Turn down your heat to medium or medium low (watch it carefully) and cook them low and slow until start to brown. I think following Rachael Ray’s method of adding sugar first would work nicely, too.

 

I, however, bypassed the sugar for a drizzle of pure maple syrup. YOM! Stir about a tablespoon in with your already softened onions and let them keep cooking. It’s almost time for the soup to come together.

 

Put your newly roasted goodies in a food processor or blender and pour in enough chicken or veggie broth to almost cover them. They’re about to become something delicious. Give your mix a spin until it’s finely pureed. Pour it into the pot with the onions and give it a stir. At this point, add some broth or water to get the soup to your perfect consistency.

Now’s time to spice it up. Add about a tablespoon of curry powder and salt and pepper to taste. We love lots of black pepper in just about everything. In my version of heaven, black pepper and chocolate will go together perfectly. If you’re iffy about curry powder, don’t be. I, too, once thought curry powder was sketchy, but bought this little jar for this very recipe and didn’t regret it one bit!

At this point your soup is almost finished! Since your veggies were cooked in the oven, you just need to make sure it’s heated through and stays your preferred consistency. Something completely optional, however:

Just a little drink of cream. I don’t even keep it in the house normally, but I think I’m turning over a new leaf. A new leaf that could be very dangerous. It’s not even absolutely necessary with the starchy goodness of pureed butternut squash, sweet apple and onions, and savory curry. But a little drizzle here and there never hurt anyone, really.

Soup’s on!

cornmeal crusted ratatouille tart

 

original recipe by Ellie Krieger found here

This recipe started out with my last Farmers’ Market trip of the season.

The second I saw the eggplant, I thought back to the time I made ratatouille (after watching the movie). We really liked it! So I began googling different ratatouille recipes and was set on Ellie Krieger’s tart from the moment I laid eyes on it!

Even though I didn’t have a tart pan, I improvised and used my springform pan. Which reminds me: I need to make cheesecake.

The recipe is really pretty simple to make!

First you mix together your crust ingredients: cornmeal, pastry flour, salt, water, butter, and oil, according to the recipe’s directions. I improvised making my crust, too. Since I don’t have a huge food processor and didn’t want to mess with batches, I made the crust old-fashioned by hand kneading it with my pie dough blender.

Then, press it into the pan, making sure it’s pretty even so it will cook evenly.

Blind bake it in a preheated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes using aluminum foil and hopefully something a little more substantial than orzo pasta, but it was all I had on hand at the time. Then remove the foil and bake it for another five minutes.

While the crust is baking, thinly slice and prep your veggies for roasting, combining them with olive oil and salt and pepper until coated. You can use this method to roast all kinds of veggies. My favorites are mushrooms and sweet potatoes, but not in this recipe with these ingredients. Ew.

Increase the oven to 400 degrees once your crust is ready and removed from the oven. Set it aside and put your veggies in to roast for about 15 minutes. Watch them so they don’t burn, but you shouldn’t have any problems. While this is happening, sauté your shallots (or use onions if you don’t have shallots) and ready your basil and cheeses. We’re about to start layering. Take the veggies out of the oven, reduce back down to 350 degrees, and let them cool so you can handle them later.

When you’re ready to start layering, remember to make each layer as flat and evenly distributed as possible so as much surface area is covered as possible. You want to get a little of everything in every bite!

The order will look like this: eggplant, then 1/3 of your mozzarella cheese and an even sprinkle of basil on top of the eggplant; zucchini and shallot layer, then another 1/3 of your mozzarella cheese and more basil on top of them; then tomatoes and the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese at the very top.

Bake for 25-30 minutes. The beauty of this dish, is that you can potentially have your kitchen clean by the time it comes out of the oven. Or, you know, you can facebook stalk, play solitaire, take a power nap, or something equally productive during that time. It’s up to you, my friend.

     

Serve up a slice and enjoy another wonderful meal you can be proud of! YUM! Thanks, Ellie!

cumin grilled chicken with deconstructed salsa salad

Ingredients:

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

10 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 roughly chopped green onions
1/2 cup arugula
1 diced avocado
the juice of 1 lime
1 drizzle honey
1 T EVOO
salt + pepper + cumin to taste

Directions:

Preheat grill or grill pan to about medium high, but watch to make sure it doesn't get too hot if it takes you forever to prepare like me. (Here I butterfly my chicken to make it thinner and quicker to cook.) Season both sides of chicken with a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of cumin, making sure it's thoroughly covered. Grill chicken on both sides until the middle is no longer pink.

Chop salad ingredients and combine with arugula in a bowl to taste. When I say to taste, I mean if you like lots of onion, add more, etc. Drizzle EVOO, honey, and lime juice to taste, but make sure the salad is not too oily like mine was on the verge of being. Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of cumin. After this picture was taken, I added corn to my salad with lots of black pepper just the way I like it!

Last step: don't judge LB's awesome photos from her iPhone, Monique!

Voila! Quick and easy!

Ellie's Cowboy Steak

JT raved over this simple, delicious recipe. The best part: I bought these steaks on sale from Whole Foods one weekend and they were absolutely perfect. The second best part: this is a healthy recipe. Not an ounce of cream. No butter. Not even any oil. JT found that kind of hard to believe. But this flavor profile is so rich and succulent. Since it's a rub, there's no marinading time. (Ellie Krieger's original recipe found here.)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coffee
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/4 pound shoulder center steak (Ranch Steak), or top sirloin, about 1 1/4-inch thick

Directions

Preheat a large skillet over medium high heat. In a small bowl combine all the ingredients for the rub. Spray your skillet with cooking spray, but work quickly so it doesn't burn before you get the meat on. Coat the steak well on both sides with the rub. It should stick well to the naturally moist meat if you gently press it on with your fingers. 

Cook steak for 14 minutes, turning once halfway, for medium to medium-rare. I had some pretty thick steaks and this was the perfect amount of time, but make sure to adjust according to the thickness of your cut. 

Allow steak to sit for 5 minutes before slicing. I served mine with a Caesar salad and sweet potatoes, but this "healthy" rendition of steak will stand up to steak dinner staples like mashed potatoes and gravy, warm dinner rolls, and veggies. So delicious!

Homemade Whole Wheat Pizza

I got this crust recipe from Nie Nie here, and I was excited because her recipe leaves room for lots of creativity.

Crust Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (whole wheat pastry flour is also ok, I learned)
1 envelop active dry yeast***
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil (since I was using pesto sauce, I chose basil olive oil)
1/4 teaspoons sugar

***Using yeast was VERY intimidating for me as I prepared for this recipe. I watched Anne Burrell make pizza on her show the other week, and she recommended adding a pinch of sugar to the mixture and making sure the water is just warm enough to cultivate, not too hot. I wasn't sure what to look for to indicate it was ready, but by the time I'd mixed the dry ingredients and added the olive oil in a bowl, I could smell it and it turned out well.

Directions: Add yeast to one cup of warm water (not too hot), let sit. Mix dry ingredients together, then add olive oil. Add yeast mixture (including water) and combine kneading for about 5 minutes. Let rise for 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and roll out the dough. I had to do this twice because I didn't flour my rolling pin or my pizza stone well enough. Oh yeah, I cooked mine on a pizza stone, but I'm sure it would turn out just as well in a pizza pan or a rectangular cookie sheet. Make sure the dough is even or else it won't cook evenly. I pressed uneven spots down gently with my fingers. You can either make the crust thin or thick, depending on the circumference of your rolling.

Add your toppings. I spread pesto sauce for a garlicy punch, crumbled feta cheese, pre-cooked chicken and bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. It would be a great thing to make sure toppings aren't piled too high, they're chopped into bite-sized pieces so they cook evenly, and if you are using raw ingredients, make sure they are cooked ahead of time in case 15 minutes isn't enough to do the job!

Bake for 15-18 minutes in a 450-degree oven. Mine baked for 16 minutes. Next time, I might try baking the crust with the sauce for about 6 minutes, adding the toppings, and then baking the rest for 12 minutes. Not sure if that would work. I counted one spot in one slice that wasn't "doughy," but wasn't as crunchy as the rest of the crust.

Now that I've accomplished this, and it's pretty easy to do, I am excited about all of the variations I can do. Here are few of my ideas:

• To sweeten the dough for fruit or dessert pizza, add a little honey
• Pineapple, canadian bacon, spinach and mozzarella pizza
• Cinnamon apple pizza (a little cheddar sounds good, too!)
  
• Leftover fruit pizza
• Taco pizza: cheddar, seasoned ground beef, tomato and avocado

The possibilities are endless!

Low Fat Oatmeal Choc Chip Cookies from bakingbites.com

Ingredients

1 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp butter, room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup plain, unsweetened apple sauce
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and the sugars. Beat in the egg, followed by the applesauce and the vanilla extract. Working by hand, stir in the flour mixture and the oats until just combined and no streaks of flour remain. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop tablespoonfuls of the dough onto the prepared baking sheet, flattening each cookie slightly.

Bake for about 10-12 min. Cookies will be light brown at the edges when done.

Let cool on sheet for 3 or 4 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container.

Makes about 2 dozen cookies.

Ellie's Grilled Thai Beef Salad

Ingredients

• 1 pound top-round London broil or flank steak, about 1 to 1 1/2-inches thick
• 3 tablespoons lime juice, divided
• 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 1/2 teaspoons minced ginger
• 1 1/4 teaspoons red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (check the int'l aisle)
  
• 1/2 head red-leaf lettuce, torn (about 6 cups)
• 3 shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup), divided, for garnish
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1 cup basil leaves, sliced into ribbons

Directions

Rinse and pat the meat dry. Place in a sealable plastic bag or small glass dish. In a medium bowl combine 1 tablespoon of the lime juice, soy sauce, canola oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger and red curry paste. Pour half the mixture into the bag with the meat. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons lime juice to the bag. Seal tightly, and marinate meat in refrigerator at least 4 hours or overnight, turning occasionally. Reserve the rest of the mixture refrigerated, to dress the salad.

Spray grill or grill pan with cooking spray and preheat. Grill steak until medium-rare, about 5 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness. JT likes his more medium, so I cooked mine for about 7 on each side. Let rest until room temperature then slice thinly against the grain. Be patient; it's worth it!

Combine lettuce, sliced shallot, cilantro, basil and beef in a salad bowl, reserving a few shallots for garnish. I went light on the shallot, a bit heavier on the cilantro and added corn to it. Add the reserved dressing and toss to coat. Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with reserved sliced shallots. JT said next time he would love crunchy Asian noodles with it. Sounds good to me!

Original recipe can be found here.

Neapolitan Calamari and Shrimp Salad

Ingredients

• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 pound orzo pasta (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 pound calamari, whole bodies and tentacles (I used scallops)
  
• 1/2 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (buy pre-cooked)
  
• 2 zucchini, sliced lengthwise, about 1-inch wide
• 1 Japanese eggplant, sliced lengthwise, about 1-inch wide
• 2 Roma tomatoes, halved lengthwise
• 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 ounces arugula (about 3 cups) (I used spinach, too)
  
• 3/4 cups chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a large pot, bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain pasta and place in a large bowl.

Meanwhile, place a grill pan over medium-high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill.

Drizzle the fish, zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill the calamari and shrimp, just until cooked through, about 1 to 2 minutes a side. Grill the zucchini and eggplant until tender, about 4 minutes a side. Grill the tomatoes just until grill marks appear, about 2 minutes.

Add the orzo, cannellini beans, arugula, basil, and parsley to the bowl. Cut the calamari bodies into 1-inch rings. Cut the zucchini, eggplant, and tomatoes into roughly about 1-inch cubes. Add the vegetables and calamari to the bowl with the lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to combine. Finally, add the shrimp on top of the salad. Gently spoon the salad into a serving bowl and serve.

Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup

It's a snowy day and shows no signs of letting up. With a busy week, I didn't prepare, and while I would get outside for ingredients, I decided to make do with my pantry and last night's leftovers. This recipe is loosely based on this one from, you guessed it, Giada DiLaurentiis.

Creamy Potato and Spinach Soup

Ingredients: one shallot, 2 celery ribs, 2 potatoes, 4 cups of chicken broth, about 2 or 2.5 cups of spinach (or whatever greens you like), and 1/4th cup of cream (or 3 Laughing Cow cheese wedges).

Oil the bottom of a fairly deep saucepan and cook 1 finely chopped shallot and 2 finely chopped ribs of celery. Season with garlic salt and black pepper.

Cook shallot and celery until transparent and fragrant. Add 2 peeled and diced potatoes to the pot (I used Yukon Gold) and 4 cups of chicken stock. Bring to a boil on high heat and then reduce to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

I prepared this whole wheat cornbread in the meantime.

Add about 2 cups of finely chopped spinach leaves and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes. Place potatoes and vegetables in the blender and add stock, just until veggies are covered. I separated these using a strainer and a bowl in my sink because I just realized I don't have a slotted spoon.

Giada's recipe called for 1/4th cup of cream, which I didn't have on hand, so I combined three Laughing Cow creamy cheese wedges with about 1/2 tablespoon of milk, mashed the cheese, and added it to the blender. Puree until smooth.


Return puree to the pot with the remaining stock and stir until warmed through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I melted a little parmesan cheese into my pot at this time.

We ate this soup up, served with warm honey cornbread. I am going to try variations on this soup, possibly adding half of a minced yellow onion to the pot at the beginning and some carrots.