Herby Roasted Potatoes with Bleu Cheese

This recipe is courtesy of the abundance of fresh herbs I received in my CSA from the University this week. Fresh herbs make such a difference in a dish like this where they play a front n' center role. Yum!

Yield: 4 1/2 c
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20-25 min

4 c new potatoes, diced
1/3 c mixed (fresh) herbs (sage, thyme, chives, rosemary)
2 T olive oil
1/2 tsp each: salt, pepper
3 oz bleu cheese, crumbled

Preheat the oven to 450. Put all ingredients (except for the cheese) in large cast iron skillet. Stir well, bake 15 minutes, rotate pan and stir, bake another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are crispy to your liking. Crumble bleu cheese over pan of potatoes while still warm. This creates a delicious cheesy layer. Enjoy!

Springtime Strawberry Salad

Yield: approx. 15 c
Prep time: approx. 20 min - depending on how much washing your greens require
Cook time: 5 min.

Salad:
12 c roughly chopped greens (bibb, buttercrunch, romaine lettuce, spinach...pick your favorites!)
4 oz (or to taste) goat cheese, crumbled 
3/4 c glazed nuts or seeds (I used a combo of sunflower seeds and almonds)
3 c (or to taste) diced strawberries

Vinaigrette:
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 c extra virgin olive oil

Combine salad ingredients in large bowl. In another bowl, combine vinegar, salt and pepper, whisk. Slowly pour in oil while constantly whisking. Dressing will emulsify  Pour dressing over salad just before serving. 

BAKLAVA!

Okay, I admit it. I was listening to my favorite NPR show, The Splendid Table a couple weeks ago, and instantly felt intimidated. Let me explain. The story that caught my ear was about 'How to Spot a Good Recipe.' I respect the host of this show (Lynne Rossetto Kasper) immensely, and when she listed some of the important parts of a good recipe, I suddenly felt like the recipes I've posted here didn't meet those standards. 

So, if you've attempted one of my recipes, and it hasn't turned out...do tell. 
If you've attempted one of my recipes, and it has turned out...again, do tell. 
I am always welcome to feedback, so if something seems odd...off....confusing....just ask.  

I have taken Ms. Kasper's advice to heart, and will do my best to explain and improve my upcoming recipes. So, this morning I put on my oven mitts, rolled up my sleeves, and I got to cookin'...

I hope you enjoy this Baklava recipe. I've adapted it to have less refined sugar (but still has some) and less butter, too. I can't tell the difference, can you?

Makes one 9x9 pan or 9 inch spring form pan
Prep time: approx. 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Notes: This is better when left to sit for a day before slicing

Ingredients:

1/2 lb phyllo dough (phyllo dough comes in a 1 lb. box)
11 T melted butter 

Filling:
3 1/2 c unsalted, toasted nuts (use a combination of pistachios, almonds, walnuts, pecans)
1/3 c brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves

Simple Syrup:
1/4 c sugar
1/2 c honey
3/4 c water
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/2 tsp cinnamon)
1 vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla)

Thaw phyllo dough according to directions on package.

Make Filling:
Place nuts in blender, pulse to chop finely, add sugar, vanilla and spices. Dump contents into large bowl. 

Make Simple Syrup:
Combine all ingredients in pan, bring to a boil, reduce heat, simmer for 5 minutes and remove from heat. Let cool.

Make Baklava:

Line your pan with parchment paper - don't skip this step - it will make your life much easier in the end. Unroll phyllo dough, being gentle, cover dough with a damp towel to keep from drying out. Brush parchment paper with melted butter. Then begin the layering process: Layer 8 sheets of phyllo dough - each one brushed with melted butter - into the baking dish. (You'll lay one down, press into the edges of the pan, brush with melted butter...repeat...)

After the 8th (or so) layer, place 1/4 of the filling mixture on top, and follow with 4 more layers (and butter) of phyllo dough. You will do this 3 more times, (4 layers of phyllo dough, 1 layer of filling, 4 layers of phyllo dough, 1 layer of filling, 4 layers of phyllo dough, and then end with 8 layers of phyllo dough (and butter, of course). If you run low on butter (you might, depending on how liberal you are with the brushing action), go ahead and melt another tablespoon or two. 

Place dish in refrigerator for 1 hour. After 30 min, preheat oven to 350 deg., remove pan from refrigerator and with a butter knife, slice baklava into triangles or rectangles (all the way through to the bottom of the pan). Remove cinnamon stick and vanilla bean from simple syrup, pour over baklava and cover lightly with foil. Place in oven. If you are using a spring form pan, you may wish to bake this ON a cookie sheet, to catch any drips that may sneak out of the pan, this is why the parchment paper is essential. After 25 minutes, remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 more minutes. It is done when the top is lightly browned. 

Total baking time: 40 minutes, plus or minus 10 minutes. 

This baklava is better if you leave it to sit in the refrigerator for 12 or so hours, but this step is not necessary. 

enjoy! 

Go-to Tofu

This is my go to tofu recipe. It's practically fool proof. The secret? An extra hot oven and extra firm tofu.

16 oz extra firm tofu (pressed, however if you can find the brand from Trader Joe's pictured below, you won't have to press it!)
2 T canola oil
2 T Braggs or 1 T soy sauce
1/2 T nutritional yeast, sometimes called torula yeast
1 T dried Italian seasoning, or a mixture of oregano, thyme, parsley, basil
1 tsp granulated garlic

Preheat oven to 550. Slice tofu in about 1/4 inch slices, lay on cookie sheet or in cast iron skillet. Mix the rest of the ingredients together and pour over tofu. Cook 10 minutes, flip tofu and cook another 10 minutes until crisp and brown.

This is my favorite way to enjoy tofu: in a sandwich....with cream cheese, spinach and tofu. Yum!

This is the best tofu I've found so far!

Mini Apple Pie Tarts

Melissa Ranglack in Accounting....here you go!*

I made this on a whim. I have quarts and quarts of apple pie preserves and I need to use them up before fall! (Well I don't have to use them up...but it's a little ridiculous how much my mom and I canned this fall...and I need the cabinet space!)

makes 12 apple pie tarts

Crust (slightly adapted from Martha Stewart):
1 1/4 c flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, cut in cubes
1 1/2 T ice water
1 1/2 T vodka (if you're not keen on using vodka, just sub ice water, but it really ups the flaky factor and the alcohol cooks out!)

Filling:
Use your favorite. I used apple pie preserves, but this one from the NY Times looks great, too. Or this appleberry pie...

Topping: 
1/2 c four
1/4 c brown sugar
1/4 c oats
pinch salt
1/2 stick cold butter

Crust:
In a food processor, pulse flour, salt, butter and combine well. Pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal, add ice water and vodka, pulse just until dough is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. Do not overmix. If the dough isn't holding together well when squeezed, add a splash more water or vodka. Don't wash the food processor...you still need to make the topping. 

Turn dough onto lightly floured surface, roll dough out, using knife or dough scraper cut 5x5 inch squares and press into muffin tin. The edges will look rough - but that is just fine. Re-roll the scraps and repeat. The number of tart shells you get depends entirely on how thick you roll the dough - I aimed for 1/4 inch (I made this recipe 2x and got 12 tarts the first time and 11 the second time). Freeze tart shells for at least 1 hour before filling and baking. 

Topping:
Combine all ingredients in food processor, pulse until thoroughly mixed. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Remove tart shells from freezer, spoon in filling, top with desired amount of crumble topping. Place in oven, lower temp to 375 and bake for 20-30 min. Keep an eye on the topping, if it is browning too quickly, tent with foil for remaining time. enjoy! (I've had one for breakfast the last 3 days...these do a body good!)

*you can make these into 'hand pies' if you wish, however you won't get 12, probably more like 6 large hand pies. Just roll out the dough, cut into a 6x6 square or use a large round cookie cutter, fill with filling, fold over, seal and crimp with fork, cut a slit in the top, freeze for 1 hour or so, brush with egg wash and bake as directed above. 

My Healthy Mac n' Cheese

The great thing about this recipe is that you can adjust the cheese sauce to suite your taste. I prefer a moderately cheesy mac n' cheese, but feel free to double or even triple the cheese sauce if you like yours very cheesy. 

Filling:
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 c diced onion
1 tsp salt
3 c diced cabbage
1 c diced carrot
2 c diced broccoli
2 c diced, packed kale
4-6 cloves minced garlic (depending on your taste)
3/4 lb rotini pasta

Cheese sauce: (if you like a very cheesy mac n' cheese, double or even triple it!)
1 1/2 T butter
1 T olive oil
3 T flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 T half n' half or heavy cream or whole milk
1 c milk
1 c cottage cheese (I used 2%)
2 c cheese (I used a mixture of extra sharp cheddar and mozzerella)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp black pepper

Topping:
1 c bread crumbs, seasoned or unseasoned, either one works

Do things in the following order and you'll have dinner ready in under 40 min:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

1. Put pasta water on to boil, add 1 T salt
2. Pour oil in to pan (med heat) for sauteing veggies; dice onion and cabbage, when oil is hot add to pan along with salt
3. Continue to dice carrot, broccoli, kale and garlic
4. When onion and cabbage are lightly brown and wilted, add broccoli and carrot. Stir well, if mixture begins to brown too quickly or sticks to pan, add a couple tablespoons of water, when broccoli/carrot are lightly browned, add kale and garlic, cook for 2 min., stir well and remove from heat. The residual heat from the pan will lightly cook them. 
5. When pasta water boils, add pasta, stir, set timer - rotini usually takes about 11 min. Cook and drain, set aside. Noodles should be al dente
6. For cheese sauce, place butter and olive oil in a heavy skillet over med/low heat. When butter has melted, add flour and salt and whisk well (see pic). You are making a roux, so cooking the flour for a couple minutes is essential
7. Add milk and half n' half to flour mixture in a slow, steady stream, whisk well ensuring there are no lumps. Whisk in cottage cheese
8. When mixture begins to thicken a bit, add cheese and spices. The cheese sauce is done when it thickens and thoroughly coats the back of a spoon.  You want it to be thick enough that it will adhere to the noodles
9. Combine cheese sauce, noodles and veggies in a large bowl, stir to incorporate and place in an oiled 9 x 13 pan, or 14 inch cast iron skillet.
10. Top with bread crumbs (I put a large slice of bread in the blender and chopped it up like that, but if you have seasoned bread crumbs, they would be delicious)
11. Bake approx. 15-20 min until top is nicely browned. enjoy!

Roux example (step 6 above)

Step 9 above

(I topped mine with a fried egg and ate it for breakfast.....yum)

Best Chocolate Chip Cookie EVER

Perhaps you've already heard about the best kept secret (make the dough today, and bake it 3-5 days later!) for creating the perfect chocolate chip cookie. If so, then please excuse my late entry to the game. I usually only post recipes that I've created or re-created, but I didn't mess with this one. So here it is.

This is by far, the most delicious chocolate chip cookie that I've ever had. 

Hands

down.

Now what are you waiting for? 

Get baking...