Recipe: Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini

 

Ricotta and Roasted Grape Crostini

Food and Wine Magazine, Dec 2014, p. 88

5 stars

This was so simple and definitely a restaurant-worthy, dinner party appetizer.  So flavorful. We've made crostini before, but this is the best so far. 

Ingredients: baguette slices, ricotta, grapes, balsamic vinegar, pine nuts, rosemary, extra-virgin olive oil, honey, lemon zest, flaky sea salt and pepper

Tip

• Used walnuts instead of pine nuts (don't think pine nuts are actually right for this dish!)

(Find recipe under: Salad - Celery, Fennel and Apple Salad with Pecornio and Walnuts)

Recipe: Heirloom Tomato BLT Tart

 

Heirloom Tomato BLT Tart

Today Show

5 Stars

I was watching The Today Show and saw the New York Times food editor (or maybe critic?) make this. It looked so easy, and I thought it was a great way for us to use up the puff pastry we've had in our freezer.

It was so good but messy (because of the super flaky puff pastry). It would be great for an appetizer at a dinner party. Next time, we may try this but using Tyler Florence's pizza dough recipe.

Ingredients: puff pastry, baby lettuces or arugula, heirloom tomatoes, bacon, mascarpone or creme fraiche, grated Parmesan, light brown sugar, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, black pepper, flaky sea salt

Recipe: Tomato & Prosciutto Tartines

Tomato & Prosciutto Tartines

Better Homes & Gardens, Sept 2020, p. 78   

5 Stars

So simple yet so incredibly delicious -- AND we were able to use up pesto (we've had lots of pesto in the house as our basil has gone gangbusters this year!).

This recipe would be great as a lunch item or appetizer, but hey, we had it as our entree for dinner and loved it.

Ingredients: French bread, pesto, tomatoes, prosciutto, fresh mozzarella, arugula, garlic

Tips/Notes:

• We toasted the bread instead of broiling it and didn't brush the bread with olive oil and garlic -- there's enough oomph and flavor from everything else that we didn't think it was necessary to take this extra step
• Didn't broil the assembled tartines -- may do that in the future but wanted a "cold" dish this time

Recipe: Chopped Kale Salad with Prosciutto and Figs

Chopped Kale Salad with Prosciutto and Figs

Food and Wine Magazine, May 2014, p.150

5 Stars

I've been seeing figs in the grocery store and then found this recipe I'd torn out of the magazine back from 2014. So glad we made this salad as it's now one of my FAVORITE! Definitely restaurant-worthy. I can see this easily being a $16 salad in a high-end restaurant. We had this with Savory Cheese Souffles.

Ingredients: Tuscan kale, Belgian endive, radicchio, figs, prosciutto, Gorgonzola cheese, walnuts, mascarpone cheese, apple cider vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, walnut oil, salt, pepper

Notes/Tips:

• I'm not a radicchio fan and raw kale in salads is just, eh... so we substituted mixed greens & arugula
• Made half the dressing -- which still made a lot! Make 1/4 next time
• Didn't want to buy walnut oil so substituted extra-virgin olive oil
• Used Gorgonzola crumbles

Recipe: Frittata-rama

Frittata-rama

Bon Appetit Magazine, May 2018, p. 132

4.8 Stars

I personally LOVED this frittata. Partner-chef-hubby-non-blog contributor the grandcruman prefers other frittata recipes that are baked. 

Regardless, the ingredients in this dish were delish: bacon, potatoes, cheese, eggs ... the perfect lunch/brunch frittata!

Ingredients: eggs, sharp cheddar, chopped bacon, onion, Yukon Gold potatoes, Swiss chard, olive oil, salt, pepper

Notes/Tips:

• Used kale instead of Swiss chard; had to cook the kale separately first
• Because we used more leafy greens (for us, kale) than was called for, we should have added more eggs than just the 8 

Recipe: Cauliflower Soup with Hazelnuts and Bacon

Cauliflower Soup with Hazelnuts and Bacon

Bon Appetit Magazine, Dec 2017/Jan 2018, p.14

4.3 stars

I think this soup was good, but I like Grant Achatz's Silky Zucchini Soup better; now non-blog-contributor the grandcruman liked this soup more than me and more than the zucchini soup (but he's not writing this blog entry!).

My reason for selecting this recipe -- it's not that it sounded that appetizing, but it used up the fennel bulb we had in the fridge. 

The recipe is from a couple of years ago when Bon Appetit Magazine had the "r.s.v.p." section in each issue where readers could ask for the recipe of their favorite dish at a restaurant. This is from Waterfront Wines in Kelowna, British Columbia.

Ingredients: cauliflower, fennel bulb, onion, bacon, blanched hazelnuts, garlic, dry white wine, chicken broth, heavy cream, bay leaves, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt, pepper

Notes:

• Couldn't find hazelnuts so used almonds -- I think hazelnuts next time will definitely add another layer of complexity/dimension to the soup
• The recipe took at least an hour to make (active time)

Recipe: Chicken-and-Gnocchi Bake with Broccolini

Chicken-and-Gnocchi Bake with Broccolini

marthastewart.com

4.4 Stars

Really good easy weeknight GNOCCHI dish! We've had some gnocchi fails so this was an "in-a-pinch" gnocchi dish using pre-made (fresh/frozen ones) -- with Gruyere, one of my favorite cheeses. The dish was bubbling (as you can see) coming out of the oven. Great ski dinner recipe!

Ingredients: Broccolini, fresh or frozen gnocchi, cooked chicken, Gruyere, Parmigiano-Reggiano, butter, garlic, all-purpose flour, chicken broth, Kosher salt, pepper

Notes:

• Used Rotisserie chicken

Recipe: Basil Ravioli

Basil Ravioli

Food & Wine Magazine, Jun 2019, p. 110

Need to make again; Flavor was 4.8 stars

Now this was a new technique for making ravioli that didn't actually work. As you can see from the photos, it involved adding basil leaves between two sheets of dough and then putting it through the pasta rollers. The pasta sheets fell apart due to the wetness and thinness of the dough (yes, we did dry the basil). Instead of this extra step, putting a leaf or two on top of the ravioli filling may work better next time.

The filling was delicious but a little bit on the salty side so go light on the salt!

I liked the raw "fresh tomato sauce" but home chef partner/blog (now, non-)contributor the grandcruman was not a fan.

We'll try this recipe again at some point again but using our notes above.

Ingredients: homemade dough sheets, ricotta, mozzarella cheese, Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, heirloom tomatoes, basil, flour, extra-virgin olive oil, Balsamic glaze (optional), water, Kosher salt, black pepper

Recipe: Smoky Tofu Chili

Smoky Tofu Chili

MarthaStewart.com 

4.7 Stars

You're probably thinking . . . tofu chili?!?!? Yes, we were skeptical too but were willing to try this out based on the ingredient list which looked flavorful. It was definitely flavorful, GOOD and healthy. Anytime I see chipotle in adobo and fire-roasted tomatoes, the dish has an extra punch. Loved the texture of the tofu in this with the red bell pepper.

Ingredients: extra-firm tofu, red bell pepper, red onion, chipotle in adobo, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, black beans, tomato paste, cilantro, ground cumin, garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, Kosher salt

Notes:

• Added cheddar cheese (like you add to regular chili!)
• Had tortilla chips on the side