Published by mel on October 17, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
I wasn’t going to post this recipe. This was supposed to be a super simple, healthy weeknight dinner. Not interesting enough to deserve a whole post. But then I tasted it and knew I had to share. These beans are deceptively easy and mind-blowingly delicious. There’s something hearty and earthy about the combination of beans and smoky, salty, crisp-like-bacon prosciutto. Add a little fresh sage, Pecorino and fancy olive oil and you’ve got a quick and tasty dinner.
I used Rancho Gordo’s Black Calypso beans and grabbed the recipe idea from their site. You can substitute dried Anasazi beans, or even canned great northern beans if you’re not up to cooking dried beans. Either way, these beans are definitely worth a try.
And now it’s time for some shameless self-promotion. As you know, the Ile de France cheese company, sent me some goat cheese to blog about awhile back and I submitted my tartlets to their recipe contest. Well, it’s time to vote! Help a girl out and head on over to the contest page.
Continue reading ‘Beans with Crispy Prosciutto, Sage, Pecorino & Olive Oil’
Published by mel on October 2, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Lately, I’m loving big, delicious sandwiches full of meats, cheeses and “slaws”. I tried looking up the definition of a slaw, but all I got was “sliced cabbage”, which isn’t really what I had in mind. Here’s my definition. Slaw (n.): A crunchy mix of thinly sliced vegetables and herbs, dressed with mayonnaise or vinaigrette, and usually served as a side or topping with a sandwich. There. I feel better. Now I can use the term slaw as loosely as I have been and we can get back to talking about the sandwich.
I like to think of this sandwich as a transition meal between Summer and Fall. The fennel and basil make it taste Summer-fresh, but the green apple definitely says Fall. The rest of the sandwich is a neat little stack of prosciutto, Saint Albray Cheese — a creamy, Brie-like, spicy cheese — and the slaw. It was perfectly simple, a nice balance between meat and cheese and vegetables, and absolutely delicious!
Continue reading ‘Prosciutto Sandwich w/Basil Apple Fennel Slaw’
Published by mel on August 15, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
Phew! I’m back from vacation! I was actually back on Monday, but have been so busy working and running around that I’ve neglected the blog, which is very very bad of me. But here I am, and so ready to start cooking.
I ate so well on my trip! We had farm-fresh salad, pork loin, blue cheese and tons of wine in Napa. Delicious chorizo and polenta mussels in Portland, which I am dying to recreate. Fried chicken on biscuits with honey, mustard and pickles (awesome!). Chilled fennel soup with dungeness crab, avocado and grapefruit in Vancouver. Oh! and Japanese-style hot dogs with terriyaki, kewpie mayonnaise and toasted nori (best hot dog ever!). And so many micro-brewed beers and local wines! I can’t wait to re-create all of those flavors.
But for now, I’ve got 2 recipes to post. (I’m trying to make up for being such a slacker.) The first is a pretty fig and fennel salad with shaved pecorino cheese and a lemony dressing. It’s a light and easy meal perfect for summer and fancy enough to serve guests. But you have to make it now before figs go out of season!
The second is a 10-minute honey mustard chicken. It’s honestly as simple as five ingredients and a hot pan. The result is a sweet and tangy chicken perfect for a side of potatoes or on top of a salad. So easy and I bet you have the ingredients in your fridge right now.
This weekend, I’ll be making some new things inspired by my Pacific Northwest trip. I’m hoping they come out well enough to post some fun new recipes.
Continue reading ‘fennel & fig salad | 10-minute honey mustard chicken’
Published by mel on July 16, 2008 in recipe and sides & bites.
Awhile back, someone from Ile de France cheese contacted me and asked if I would be interested in some free cheese to feature on the blog. Free cheese? Camembert? Yes please. So, what is Camembert exactly? It’s like a stronger-tasting brie. Creamy and tangy, a bit nutty and very delicious. Now, to come up with a good recipe to showcase the cheese. I feel like a contestant on Top Chef.
Ever since black mission figs started appearing at the stores, I’ve been roasting them with olive oil, sugar and lots of black pepper. They emerge from the oven caramelized and just a bit spicy. Absolute heaven and perfect for a cheese plate. A cheese plate is a bit indulgent for just me and my husband, so I made “sushi” rolls with the roasted figs, the Camembert and prosciutto. Drizzled with honey and sprinkled with truffle salt, these are an indulgent and delicious snack, hors d’oeuvre or appetizer. You can also stack all of the ingredients into a crusty baguette for a most delicious sandwich.
Continue reading ‘roasted fig, camembert & prosciutto “sushi” rolls’
Published by mel on June 27, 2008 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
The end of June is one of the best times of the year. The sun rises early and sets late, the 4th of July is just around the corner and black mission figs are finally in season! I love figs, and while I’ll never pass up dried figs, there’s nothing like a fresh one. I think people are scared off my their weird appearance, or maybe they’re just traumatized by Fig Newtons. Whatever the case, nobody seems to buy them at my local grocery store, which just leaves more for me.
I love them caramelized, grilled, drizzled with honey and especially on a pizza. They add just enough sweetness to complement the salty prosciutto and cheese without being cloying. Delicious! Go get them now before they’re gone for the summer. A tip on storing them: Keep them in the fridge. They grow mold quickly if it’s hot an humid out.
Now put the mold out of your mind and go get your fig on…
Continue reading ‘black mission fig & prosciutto pizza’
Published by mel on February 8, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I’ve been thinking about individual lasagnas for a long time because everyone loves the crispy and burnt corner piece and if lasagnas were baked in little dishes, they’d be crispy and burnt all around. So, that’s what I was going for. I also had some butternut squash, arugula and prosciutto on hand, so I opted for more of a non-traditional lasagna.
When I took them out of the oven, I was afraid I had over-crisped them and they would be way too difficult to eat. They were super crispy, but I kind of loved them that way. The top layer of the pasta was crisp and chewy like a cracker, and the insides were sweet and salty and sturdy. Now I really want to try it out with more traditional ricotta, red meat sauce and mozzarella lasagnas. Maybe next week.
Continue reading ‘rustic, crispy lasagnas’
Published by mel on January 25, 2008 in entree and recipe.
I like salads that are room temperature, or even a little warm because you can actually taste the ingredients. There’s nothing more unappealing to me than a pre-made, super refrigerated salad from a deli or grocery store. Tomatoes are especially gross when they’re really cold. Not that there are any tomatoes in this salad - I’m just saying…
Anyway, I made a salad last night with freshly roasted butternut squash, which is rather annoying to prepare from a whole squash and so I will be using the frozen cubed kind from Whole Foods from now on. I also crisped up my prosciutto by broiling it in the oven. (I know you’re not supposed to heat/cook prosciutto, but it wasn’t the fancy expensive kind and I wanted something closer to the consistency of bacon.) I used both Arugula and Watercress (for peppery-ness), feta cheese (for tang) and pumpkin seeds (for crunch) then tossed everything in a citrusy Dijon vinaigrette.
I’ve used quite a bit of parentheses in this post, and I’ll try to refrain from doing so in the future (promise).
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Published by mel on September 27, 2007 in entree, recipe and sides & bites.
This is the best I can do when I get home after 8:30—Prosciutto, tomato, Havarti, watercress & fried egg on five-grain sourdough bread. I served these sandwiches with polenta fries, which I made by using the pre-made polenta in a tube (cheating, I know!) and slicing into fry-size pieces, lightly covering in parmesan cheese and broiling for about 20 minutes. The polenta fries are just about perfect for mopping up any drippy yolk.
Published by mel on March 22, 2007 in entree and recipe.
I love baked things. I especially love baked things with browned, bubbly cheese and crispy corners. I do not love that when you boil store-bought gnocchi, it becomes and soggy mess. The solution? Bake the gnocchi in liquid-y sauce. The baking cooks them through without making them mushy. AND there’s melted cheese all over the top.
Continue reading ‘baked deliciousness’
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