Butternut Squash–Fontina Lasagna

Have you ever listened to KCRW's Good Food radio program on Saturday mornings? Along with The Splendid Table, this is the other show I will not miss each week. Luckily, they're both available in podcast on iTunes, so I can listen to them whenever.

Here's a link to the video for the lasagna. Evan Kleiman, the show's excellent host, so much loved this recipe that I had to try it, especially since it's getting hot outside and soon will be too warm to fire up the oven.

Here's the recipe. I pretty much followed it as written, except the store didn't have Fontina, so I subb'd sliced Mozzarella, and it came out sooooooooo yummmmy! Eddie and I pigged out and had two servings, but if we only had one, this easily would serve 10. Round this out with a light salad or roasted asparagus and you have a complete meal. All we had was the lasagna, and we were very happy.

As suggested, I doulbed the béchamel, but didn't need all of it. I salted and peppered the cooked and mashed squash, but next time I would leave out the salt. There's enough salt in the sauce and cheeses.

One comment: Next time I'll use regular lasagna noodles and precook them to the al dente stage. I think the no-boil sheets come out a bit papery; the regular ones are more "noodley," if you know what I mean.

This one for sure will go in the repeat file. Great for company because it can be assembled well ahead and then thrown in the oven when your guests arrive.

Butternut Squash–Fontina Lasagna

(from KCRW's Good Food)

• 1 medium sized butternut squash
• 2 lb Italian Fontina, cut into slices
• Grated Parmesan
• No-boil lasagna noodles
• 4 cups béchamel sauce (see recipe below)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Place on lined baking sheet, cut side down. Bake until soft, approximately 45 minutes at 375°-400°.

When the squash is very soft, remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes. When cool enough to handle, scrape the flesh from the skin and place in bowl.

Run the lasagna rectangles under cold water then make a layer of them in a baking dish. Dot the cooked squash on top of the pasta layers. Drizzle a healthy amount of béchamel over all. Add a sparse dotted layer of fontina, then sprinkle grated parmesan. Continue layering in the same fashion until you have two to three layers of squash, fontina, béchamel and parmesan. End with a layer of pasta, béchamel and parmesan. For more detailed directions Watch the Video.

Bake covered at 375° until hot through. Remove foil and let top layer color until golden brown.

Béchamel Sauce
Makes 2 cups
Double recipe for the lasagna

• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
• 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 cups hot milk
• Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir to form a smooth paste. (Those angled wooden spatulas are great for this because you can really scrape the bottom of the pan and prevent burning.) Heat the milk in a separate saucepan or the mcrowave.. When it is hot but not boiling pour it into the roux ( the butter-flour mixture), stirring constantly with a whisk. Make sure you get into all the edges of the pan to coax all the roux into the milk. Cook over low heat until the sauce thickens and the flour taste is gone. Add salt and pepper to taste.

My Nomination for the Next Food Network Show

I found a video from Bitchin' Kitchen today on the Men in Aprons site. Check it out. Very funny, and not a bad cooking show either. I think this would be a nice complement to the Food Network lineup.

Here's a sample from Valentine's Day.

Black Bottom Cupcakes

Today started out one of those rare desert mornings; it was raining. A lot! I actually got to turn off the auto sprinklers and give the water table a break for 24 hours. It stayed mostly cloudy all day and sprinkled a few times in the p.m. Rainy days give me the urge to bake something yummy for dessert (also get the urge on nice sunny days. What's up with that?) so after scanning my list of recipes to try, I settled on David Lebovitz's Black Bottom Cupcakes. All the ingredients were on hand, except the mini chocolate chips, so I just gave the regular ones a quick chop. David suggests either regular or lower-fat cream cheese, and I used the regular. There was extra filling after dolloping the cupcake batter, so Eddie and I started eating the rest until I realized we were eating something with raw eggs. What a killjoy! Anywho, the batter was really easy to throw together. Not even butter to soften ahead of time. It's actually kind of thin, as its main liquid is water and regular oil. As these came out of the oven and cooled, the center collapses a bit and the filling peeks out nicely. Not too sweet, but perfect with ice-cold milk.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes
Makes 12.
Adapted slightly from "The Great Book of Chocolate," by David Lebovitz.

Filling:

• 1 (8-oz.) pkg. cream cheese (regular or Neufchatel), softened

• 1/3c. granulated sugar

• 1 egg

• 1/3c. semisweet chocolate mini-chips

Cupcakes:

• 11/2c. flour

• 1 c. firmly packed light brown sugar

• 5 tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1 tsp. baking soda

• 1/4tsp. salt

• 1 c. water

• 1/3c. unflavored vegetable oil

• 1 tbsp. white or cider vinegar

• 1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin or line it with paper cupcake cups.

Prepare the filling: In the small bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, granulated sugar and egg, beating until the mixture is smooth. Stir in the chocolate mini-chips; set aside.

Prepare the cupcake batter: In a large bowl, sift together the flour, brown sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl combine the water, oil, vinegar and vanilla. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in the liquid mixture, stirring only until smooth. (Avoid stirring further.)

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups-- about1/4cup each. Spoon about 2 tablespoons of the filling mixture into the center of each. The tins will be quite full.

Bake 23 to 25 minutes, until the tops are slightly golden brown and the cupcakes feel springy when gently pressed.

Cool completely before removing paper liners. The centers sink as the cupcakes cool.

Two Funny Videos from You Tube

Flatiron Steak with Potato Gratin

Made this the other night, and I must say the potatoes were the shining star of the meal. As good as they were that night, they were even better reheated the second night after having had a chance to cool and firm up a bit. The addition of the soft goat cheese to the dish was outstanding. I can't say enough good things other than to say it will be a regular addition to our menus, especially for company. A great make-ahead dish, either early in the day or the day before.

The steak also was very nice. I've been reading lately from several reliable sources how very early salting of the meat produces a more flavorful and tender end result. It's true; salting early does not result in salty meat, but rather the most delicious and tender flavor. Don't forget to give the meat a good room-temperature standing period before cooking; the meat will be more evenly cooked with no cold spots or overcooked edges.

All that was needed to round out this meal was the easy wine sauce and a side of steamed asparagus.

I saw this made on the Everyday Food show on the local PBS station, and it was conveniently available for downloading.

Steak with Wine Sauce and Potato Gratin

Serves 4 | Prep Time: 40 minutes | Total Time: 60 minutes

Butter, for baking dish

1½ cups heavy cream

5 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled

1 garlic clove, minced; plus cut clove for rubbing dish

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1½ pounds baking potatoes, (about 3)

4 flatiron or top blade steaks, (6 to 8 ounces each and 1 inch thick)

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons capers, drained

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub dish with cut clove of garlic. Butter an 8-inch square (2-quart) baking dish; set aside. In a large saucepan, combine cream, goat cheese, and garlic; season with salt and pepper.

2. Peel potatoes and slice crosswise 1/8 inch thick; add to cream mixture as you work. Bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer; cook until potatoes are crisp-tender, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish; using a spatula, press potatoes into cream to cover. Place dish on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until golden and potatoes are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.

4. Fifteen minutes before potatoes are finished baking, heat a large skillet over medium-high. Season steaks on both sides with salt and pepper; cook, 6 to 7 minutes per side for medium-rare (if browning too quickly, reduce heat when cooking second side). Transfer to a plate, cover loosely with aluminum foil, and set aside. Keep skillet with any browned bits for wine sauce.

5. Make wine sauce: Add wine to skillet; boil over medium-high heat until syrupy, 3 to 4 minutes. Whisk in mustard. (For a smoother sauce, pour mixture through a fine-mesh sieve, discard any browned bits, and return liquid to skillet.) Stir in capers and any juices from resting steaks; season with salt and pepper. Serve steaks with wine sauce and potato gratin.

Sunset's Squash Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls

How to Salvage Two Bags of Aging Dates

This photo of a noisy neighbor's date tree reminded me of something I'd been meaning to make for a while.

I'm embarrassed to say this, but there were two bags of dates on the pantry shelf that I'd see out of the corner of my eye every time I passed by for the last year. Yes, the last year! So yesterday I pulled out some books from the shelf, looked in my files, and Googled the net for a recipe to use them up. Way back in the 90's I bought a series of soft-cover books put out by the California Culinary Academy, each one on a certain subject -- French, Italian, Meats, Breads -- not knowing at that time I'd actually go there in the near future for the full sixteen-month course. This very simple recipe for Food Processor Date Bars comes from the book Cookies. As the dates were a bit questionable in the texture department, I snipped them in halves and gave them a 15-minute soaking in very hot water, then drained them and proceeded with the recipe. These were a sure hit and I'll make them again. Not too sweet, even with the light coating of confectioners' sugar. They reminded me of a date bar square my mother used to make years ago. This recipe was made in an 8 x 8 square pan and yielded 16 servings. The original claims 24 squares, but I think that would be too "sensible" a size.
Food Processor Date Bars

from California Culinary Academy's Cookies

2 cups pitted dates
1 cup pecans
½ cup, each, flour and sugar
½ t baking powder
¼ cup firm butter, diced
1 egg
2 yolks
1 ½ t vanilla extract
confectioners’ sugar

1. Preheat oven to 350; grease, flour 8” square pan.

2. Process dates, pecans, flour, sugar, baking powder, butter. Process using on-off pulses until dates and nuts are finely chopped.

3. Beat egg, yolks, vanilla to blend. Add mixture through feed tube with motor running all at once. Process until ingredients are well coated with egg mixture. Spread evenly in pan.

4. Bake until top is golden brown, 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on wire rack about 10 minutes. Cut into squares. Remove from pan, turn lightly in confectioners’ sugar to coat each bar on all sides.

Makes about 16 bars.

Joe's Quinoa Salad with side of Cold Avocado Soup

I've recently been using quinoa as a side dish and saw Joe's entry from a while back and decided to give it a try last night as our main course. Yummy! Quinoa is a totally delicious grain, packed with protein and other goodies. I used what was on hand, and sub'd a red delicious apple for the Granny Smith. Also, I added some sauteed sliced mushrooms. I had homemade chicken stock and used that instead of veggie stock. After dinner, Eddie and I were picking at the bottom of the pot, trying to get some of the tasty bits stuck to the bottom. By the way, I always make quinoa in the rice cooker. It's just too easy not to. Even sauteeing the aromatics works fine in the cooker. Halfway through I add the quinoa and give it a coating in the oil and toast it a few moments before adding the broth.

Thank you, Joe, for another great entry!

Hearty Quinoa with Sautéed Apples and Almonds
1 cup dry quinoa, well rinsed and drained
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup finely diced carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups finely diced Granny Smith apple (used red delicious)
3 tablespoons slivered almonds, toasted (used raw pistachios)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
(I added some sliced and lightly sauteed mushrooms)

In a medium saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high. Stir in onion, carrot and garlic - sauté until the onion is tender and the carrots begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Pour in the broth, quinoa, salt and cinnamon. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until the liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat and fluff with a fork - cover to keep warm.

In a large skillet, heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Add apples and mushrooms; sauté until the apple and mushrooms begin to brown, about 7 minutes. Add apple, almonds, and pepper to quinoa mixture and gently toss to combine.

Should be 4 servings, but hey, we're normal adults, so it's just over 2 servings.

Served it with a mug of cold avocado soup. It's a no-brainer to throw together. No cooking. All that's needed is a blender. Didn't bother this time with the sour cream and fried tortilla strips.

Chilled Avocado Soup With Lime and Jalapeno
(Preparation 15 minutes)
3 limes
3 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
1 garlic clove, chopped
Handful of parsley
1/2 – 1 small jalapeno pepper, with seeds, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt or kosher salt, plus additional to taste
1 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
--------------------
Optional toppings:
1 large (8 inches) flour tortilla, cut into 2-by-1/4-inch strips
Sour cream, for garnish
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Squeeze the juice from 21/2 of the limes. Cut the remaining half lime into 4 wedges for the garnish.

In a blender combine 3 cups of ice water (a mixture of ice and water) with the lime juice, avocados, garlic, jalapeno and salt. Blend until smooth. Chill the soup until ready to serve.

Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan over a medium flame. Add the tortilla strips and fry until they are crunchy and golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain the strips on paper towels and sprinkle them with salt.
Spoon the soup into bowls. Place a dollop of sour cream in the center of each bowl, then top with tortilla strips. Garnish with fresh cilantro. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
Makes 4 servings.

Separated At Birth?

Ann Coulter

Dr. Gillian McKeith from "You Are What You Eat"

Just Goofing Around in Las Vegas

We got in the mail today a disc of photos from Eddie's Scottish friend, Liz, taken in the spring. Here are a few.

At The Venetian

At the Fashion Show Center

At Red Rocks Canyon

Fremont Street Experience

Main Street Station Buffet

World's Largest Souvenir Store, The Strip @ Sahara

Orange Jubilee

Came across a really cool site the other day, Hillbilly Housewife, and she's got a lot of great recipes by categories, including this one for an Orange Julius copycat. I made this with the optional egg, and it added a lot of body and creaminess. I'm sipping on my first glassful as I type this, and I'll save the rest for an afternoon pick-me-up. I wonder how this would be with frozen tangerine concentrate or other citrus flavors? Hmmmm! Gotta try that soon.

Thanks, Maggie, for the great recipe!

Orange Jubilee

• 3/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
• 2 cups milk
• 1 medium egg (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 12 ice cubes
• a strong blender

In a blender container, combine the orange juice concentrate, milk, egg (if you are using it), vanilla and sugar. Put the lid on the blender and whirl it at top speed for about 30 seconds. While the blender is running, drop in the ice cubes one at a time. Continue whirling until the ice is well chopped.

Rosh Hashannah Honey Cake

I've had this recipe in my "to try" list for about a year, and since it's now Jewish New Year time again, I gave it a try yesterday. This is an easy recipe to throw together, especially if you get all the ingredients and bowls out so you can just go down the line and get it done quickly. The 9 x 13 pan size is large, so I gave a nice chunk to friends. This recipe came from the Chicago Jewish Times Online site. Honey cake is great, so don't shy away if you're not Jewish. Try it; you'll like it!
Classic Honey Cake

3 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon instant coffee
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup oil
1 cup honey
Zest of one orange
2 tablespoons any whiskey
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and baking soda and set aside. Mix the instant coffee with the water and blend in the oil, honey, orange zest and whiskey. In a large bowl, beat eggs until frothy; gradually add sugar and beat until light. Add to the honey mixture. Combine flour mixture alternately with honey mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Stir in walnuts. Pour batter into an oiled and waxed paper- lined 13- x 9- x 2-inch baking pan (Pam’d the pan; lined bottom w parchment paper) . Bake for about 50 minutes. Test for doneness with a toothpick. If toothpick comes out clean and dry cake is done. If moist, keep baking until toothpick comes out clean. ***Turn cake upside down onto a wire rack. Cool. Peel off waxed paper and wrap in aluminum foil to keep fresh. Serves 8 to 10.

*** Cooled in pan on a rack about 30 minutes until cake was just warm. Flipped out of pan onto cooling rack, left paper on, then flipped rightside up on another rack to finish cooling.

Roasted Corn Chowder from Karina, the Gluten Free Goddess

Love that freezer. I pulled out some bags of deli-prepped veggies left over from a cocktail party we threw in May and made a fantastic batch of vegetarian stock. It was full of whole tomatoes, carrots, celery, red bell peppers and garlic, for starters. In addition, there was a bag of grilled veggies, such as eggplant and zucchini, which imparted a nice smokiness to the stock.

I came across Karina's recipe for this chowder and decided to give it a try. (Do check out her site; she's an awesome food stylist and photographer) The only modifications I made were: I used about 1/4 teaspoon chipotle powder to tame the heat a bit; used a bag of Trader Joe's frozen fire-roasted corn; and served the chowder with chunky bits of avocado.

I had intended on freezing the remainder after the first night, but it was just too good and I finished the last bit for lunch today. It makes a very large batch, probably about 8 to 10 servings. Alongside were squares of freshly made cornbread, which was so nice and moist that no spread or toppings were needed.
Roasted Corn Chowder
1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon curry powder or paste, mild or hot
1/2 teaspoon chipotle powder, or to taste
5 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1 medium sweet onion, diced
3 ears of fresh corn, roasted, kernels removed
1 large sweet potato, peeled, diced
1 large gold potato, peeled, diced
1 14-oz can fire roasted tomatoes, diced
2-3 tomatillos, chopped
4 plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped
4 oz. chopped roasted green chiles (mild or hot)
1 quart vegetable broth
1 14-oz can coconut milk
1 14-oz. can pinto beans or chick peas
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
Pinch of organic brown sugar
3 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
Fresh lime juice from 1 to 2 limes

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat and stir in the cumin, curry and chipotle; cook for one minute to infuse the oil with spice. Add the chopped garlic and onion. Stir and cook for five minutes.

Add the roasted corn, sweet potato, canned tomatoes, tomatillo, fresh tomatoes, green chiles and stir for a minute. Add in the broth. Cover and bring to a high simmer. Lower the heat and simmer gently, covered, until the potatoes are tender, about twenty minutes or so.

Add the coconut milk and beans. Stir and season with sea salt and ground pepper; and add a pinch of brown sugar, to taste. Heat through gently; do not boil.

Just before serving, add the chopped cilantro and fresh lime juice. Stir. Taste test. Adjust seasoning. The lime juice brightens the taste and accents the spice.

Garnish with a lime wedge and pass out the spoons. Slurp!

Serves 6-8.

Bless Her Heart!

Heck Bars

A couple of weeks ago I checked out of the library a copy of Hidden Kitchens: Stories, Recipes and More from NPR's The Kitchen Sisters. Not your usual cookbook. In fact, I wouldn't call it a cookbook at all, but a collection of stories about people who cook, with some recipes thrown in. Great reading; typical NPR quality stuff. Anywhooo... this recipe popped out at me right at the beginning of the book. Except for the semi-sweet chocolate chips (I had on hand bittersweet so I used those instead), I had everything on hand. Very easy and quick to throw together. No mixer necessary. For these you'll need a 12 x 8 1/2 x 1 pan, which is actually called a quarter sheet pan. If you have bulk sheets of parchment, just quarter one and it will fit perfectly in the bottom of the pan. They come out kind of like a brownie and are perfect with a very cold glass of milk. Yummy!

Heck Bars

Ingredients
8 oz. unsalted butter
4-¾ oz. Unsweetened chocolate
4 extra large eggs
2 1/8 cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
1 1/8 cup all purpose flour
1 ½ cup walnuts (optional)(I used unchopped walnut halves)
8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips (I had on hand bittersweet)

Directions: Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Gently melt chocolate and butter in double boiler. When chocolate is totally melted, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt. Use a spatula or wooden spoon and mix just until blended. Fold melted chocolate butter into egg mixture.
Toss together flour, walnuts and 8 oz. of chocolate chips. Fold into chocolate-egg mixture. Note: Do not over mix; fold only enough to incorporate dry ingredients, or bar will be too tough and too cake-like.
Line a 12-inch x 8 ½-inch x 1-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Pour batter into pan; consistency should be like a thick chocolate sauce (batter does not rise much, so it is OK if batter rims the pan).
Place pan in center of oven and bake 40-50 minutes. Thirty minutes into baking, check surface; a thin crust should form. It is done when it's very moist inside, with a thin, crispy, sugary surface (like a thin crust of ice forming on a pool of water). To achieve a fudge-like consistency, you must under bake.

Speedy Cooking Tips from Five Top Experts

Take a look at this interesting article from Food & Wine's September 2004 issue. Also, there are 10 yummy looking recipes to consider.

As an aside: Happy Camping! to Janet over at Janet is Hungry. She'll be camping for the next week or so.

Podcasts I'm Listening To Right Now

The Splendid Table

Coast to Coast AM

Coverville

The Daily Purge

Grammar Girl's Quick & Dirty Tips for Better Writing

How Much Do We Love

KCRW's Good Food

KPBS's A Way with Words

Lady Raptastic Podcast

Lucky Bitch Radio

Car Talk

NPR Fresh Air

Old Time Rock 'n' Roll

This American Life

The Diane Rehm Show

WGBH Classical Performance

Dinner for a Recovering Friend

Our friend Michael got quite the surprise last week. He went into Eisenhower Hospital for a routine operation and came out a week later with a triple bypass. So when he was up to it, we had him and his partner Tom over for dinner on Saturday to give them a night out. I hope everything was okay for his new heart-healthy diet.

The starter recipe I got off of the KARE 11 website the other day while looking for videos of the bridge collapse. It's from a restaurant called Cue in Minneapolis. Very refreshing and lots of flavors going on all at the same time.

Green Gazpacho with Lime Sour Cream

For the gazpacho:
1 c. honeydew melon, peeled and seeded
1 T. jalapeño peppers, gilled and seeded (I used ungrilled)
¼ c. green bell peppers, gilled and seeded (I used ungrilled)
¼ c. green onions, chopped
½ c. English cucumbers, chopped skin on
1 c. tomatillos, husked and chopped
1 c. sweet onions, peeled and diced ¼" (I used shallots)
2 T. Banyuls vinegar or other red wine vinegar (I used sherry vinegar)
2 T. fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 t. fine sea salt
½ t. white pepper, freshly ground

For the sour cream:
1 c. sour cream (I used low fat)
2 T. lime juice, freshly squeezed
1 t. sea salt
½ t. Tellicherry black pepper, freshly ground
(I thought it was a bit thick for drizzling so I added a bit of water to thin it down.)

Preparation:

For the gazpacho:
Purée the fruits and vegetables with the remaining ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Transfer to a labeled container with a tight fitting lid, and refrigerate immediately. (Thin with some water if too thick)

For the sour cream:
Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly in a stainless steel mixing bowl until well blended.

For the plate:
Ladle six ounces of gazpacho into a chilled serving bowl. Garnish with sour cream and some freshly chopped chives. (the store didn't have chives, so I used thinly sliced green part of scallion)
- - - - - - -
For the salad I made a refreshing salad of watermelon, shallots, feta and olives. Recipe adapted from a recipe in Food & Wine.

Watermelon Salad with Feta
SERVES: 4

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon harissa or other hot sauce (I used harissa)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 pounds seedless watermelon, rind removed, fruit sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 small red onion, thinly sliced (I used shallot)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted Moroccan or other oil-cured black olives, coarsely chopped
2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

1. In a small bowl, whisk the olive oil with the lemon juice and harissa and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the watermelon slices on a platter and sprinkle with the onion, parsley, olives and feta. Drizzle the dressing on top and serve.
- - - - - - -
Next up was a recipe that came in a weekly newsletter from The Splendid Table for using the season's best tomatoes in a amazingly simple recipe. It just so happens the grape tomatoes from Costco this year are sugary sweet; so they were perfect for part of the sauce. Allow the maximum time for the tomatoes to give up as much juice as possible. In addition to rubbing the bowl with garlic, I pressed a clove into the tomatoes as well. Start with only half the sea salt; 1 teaspoon seemed to be excessive. You can always add more later.
Mellowed Fresh Tomatoes for Pasta
Copyright 2007 Lynne Rossetto Kasper
Serves 6 to 8 as a first course, 4 to 6 as a main dish
1 clove garlic, split
3 pounds richly flavored tomatoes (if possible, one-third cherry type, one-third mellow-tasting, and one-third low-acid), unpeeled, unseeded, cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 generous pinches hot red pepper flakes
1/3 cup good tasting extra-virgin olive oil (I used Goya brand Spanish)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 pound spaghetti, or linguine (Barilla brand)
6 quarts boiling salted water
1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper, or to taste
3 tight-packed tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn
1 cup fresh-grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)

1. Vigorously rub a pasta serving bowl with the garlic and discard the clove. Add the tomatoes, red pepper, oil, and the salt. Gently combine. Let stand at room temperature from 30 minutes to 3 hours.
2. When ready to eat, cook the pasta in fiercely boiling salted water, stirring often, until tender yet firm to the bite. Drain in a colander and turn it into the pasta bowl. Quickly add the black pepper and basil, and toss everything together. Taste the pasta for seasoning and serve. If you like, pass cheese at the table

Here's a tip from Lynee:

• "I discovered a trick for making pasta with raw tomato sauces taste lustier. Slightly undercook the pasta. Drain it. Spoon the juices that raw sauces always throw off into the empty pasta pot. Set it over medium-low heat, add the pasta and toss until the juices are absorbed, then add the pasta to the sauce. Pasta and raw tomato sauce are served at room temperature, never chilled."
- - - - - - -
I thought some protein was needed to bump up the pasta, so I made a batch of breaded chicken breasts. So moist and tasty. I strayed from the recipe by browing both sides and finishing them off in a 325 oven for about 25 minutes, until the internal temperature reached about 165. The recipe is adapted from Cook's Illustrated online.

Crisp Breaded Chicken Cutlets

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (6 to 8 ounces each), tenderloins removed
1/2 cup kosher salt or 1/4 cup table salt
1/2 cup granulated sugar
5 - 8 slices high-quality white bread such as Pepperidge Farm, crusts removed and torn into rough 1 1/2-inch pieces
Ground black pepper
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup vegetable oil
lemon wedges for serving

1. Pound chicken breasts to even 1/2-inch thickness. Dissolve salt and sugar in 1 quart cold water in gallon-size zipper-lock plastic bag. Add cutlets and seal bag, pressing out as much air as possible; refrigerate 30 minutes. Line rimmed baking sheet with triple layer of paper towels.
2. Remove cutlets and lay in single layer on baking sheet; cover with another triple layer of paper towels and press firmly to absorb moisture. Allow cutlets to dry for 10 minutes. Process bread in food processor until evenly fine-textured, 20 to 30 seconds (you should have about 1 1/2 cups fresh bread crumbs). Transfer crumbs to baking dish. Carefully peel paper towels off cutlets, sprinkle cutlets with pepper, and set aside.
3. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, set large heatproof plate on rack, and heat oven to 200 degrees. Spread flour in baking dish. Beat eggs with 1 tablespoon oil in second baking dish. Spread bread crumbs in third baking dish.
4. As shown in illustrations below, bread the cutlets, one at a time. Dredge cutlet in flour, shaking off excess. Using tongs, dip both sides of cutlet in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip back into baking dish to ensure very thin coating. Dip both sides of cutlet in bread crumbs, pressing crumbs with fingers to form even, cohesive coat. Place breaded cutlets in single layer on wire rack set over baking sheet and allow coating to dry for about 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat 6 tablespoons remaining oil in heavy-bottomed 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes. Lay two cutlets gently in skillet; cook until deep golden brown and crisp on first side, gently pressing down on cutlets with wide metal spatula to help ensure even browning, about 2 1/2 minutes. Using tongs, flip cutlets, reduce heat to medium, and continue to cook until meat feels firm when pressed gently and second side is deep golden brown and crisp, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes longer. Line warmed plate with double layer of paper towels and set cutlets on top; return plate to oven.
6. Discard oil in skillet and wipe skillet clean using tongs and large wad of paper towels. Repeat step 5 using remaining 6 tablespoons oil and now-clean skillet to cook remaining cutlets; serve along with first batch with lemon wedges.
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For dessert I made very low-fat milkshakes using nonfat vanilla yogurt, 1% milk and reduced-fat Oreos. Yummy! Turned them slightly mocha with some instant espresso powder.

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My Favorite Tomato Soup Recipe

Tomatoes were on sale last week, and so I made up a batch of my favorite tomato soup. Good thing because we had last-minute guests for dinner, so the timing was perfect. It's very easy to make, and you can control your seasonings to taste, such as the herbs and hot pepper flakes.

For dessert I had already planned rice pudding. The day before I made up a batch of jasmine rice in the rice cooker, and then it dried out in the fridge for a day. Then it's a snap to throw it together and bake it off a couple of hours before it's eaten. That way, it has a chance to cool but still be warm enough to enjoy with a drizzling of heavy cream. Fresh fruit would also be good. Leftovers, reheated, are a delicious and filling breakfast.

Harry’s Tomato Soup


Olive oil & butter
Shallots
1 stalk celery, halved
salt, pepper

Sweat above, covered; then add to the above

pepper flakes
thyme
smoked paprika
1 – 2 T tomato paste
2 T brown sugar
2 T flour

Stir in well; then add to the above

About 5 lb tomatoes, either Roma or on-the-vine, coarsely chopped

Lower heat; simmer, covered, until tomatoes give up their juice and reduce a bit. Then add to the above

2 – 2 ½ cups water

Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer; simmer, covered, 30 minutes; then process and strain or run through food mill. Then bring to a boil and reduce and then add to the above

Cream, about ½ cup

Retaste for salt and pepper.

This recipe came from the Sterns website called Roadfood.com. They do a segment each week on The Splendid Table show on NPR. It's very conveniently available on podcast, free, through iTunes.

Rice Pudding

4 cups cooked rice
1-1/2 cups sugar
4 cups whole milk
1 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
dash of salt
Heavy cream

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well.
3. Pour into a casserole and bake 1-1/2 hours until the top is browned.
4. Serve warm, topped with a fine dust of nutmeg if desired. Drizzle with
cream.