Tortellini Market Salad with Pesto

I made this salad for a sunset dinner with a friend on a lazy Sunday after a weekend of eating pizza for dinner (okay maybe we had the rest of it for breakfast too!) You will feel good eating this salad because it's fresh, healthy and colorful. The dressing / pesto recipes here are enough for about 4 dinner sized salads, but I will leave the rest of the amounts up to your personal tastes and preferences.

Ingredients

Pesto
1/4 cup packed basil leaves
1/4 cup packed Italian parsley
2 T pine nuts
1 T chopped shallot
2 T lemon juice
3 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

Dressing
2 t chopped basil leaves
4 t red wine vinegar
3 t olive oil

Salad
2 cups organic red leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
2 cups mache lettuce*
2 cups baby lettuce blend
shelled English peas, cooked and set to room temperature
thin sliced radishes
thin sliced English cucumber
thin sliced red onions
cooked asparagus tips (I forgot to add these but it was my intention)
avocado slices
fresh cheese tortellini, cooked and drained
toasted pine nuts
crumbled farmer's cheese or queso blanco (in the Mexican food cold aisle of the market)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Add pesto ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth. You may need to add more oil or lemon depending on the thickness you desire. Let set up to a day in the refrigerator.

Blend dressing ingredients together and let set out.

Let lettuce crisp up by washing and setting in the refrigerator covered with a wet paper towel. When you are ready to serve, toss the lettuce in a large bowl with the other vegetables and dressing. Plate salad onto individual plates and add tortellini, pine nuts and cheese to each individually. Drizzle each plate with pesto and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

*I have a new obsession with mache lettuce, which is slowly gaining popularity in America. It tastes nutty, is a rich green color and has a delicate texture. High in vitamins A, B and C, it is known to fight stress and fatigue. It also has a third more iron in it than spinach! I haven't seen mache in many grocery stores as of yet, but I have found it in the bagged lettuce area at Trader Joe's.

Thank you Narineh for taking lovely pictures of the meal! You should check out her blog Traditionally Modern Designs for more (and other great design, home, food, etc. stuff!)

Asparagus and Sugar Pea Summer Salad

This is a very easy, light and refreshing side dish that I made in 10 minutes. I got this in my May 09 Cooking Light magazine. They had it served with chicken scallopine. I made it as a 'healthy' side dish to mac and cheese:)

Ingredients:

1/2 of 1 bunch of thin asparagus spears, trimmed and cut into thirds
1 cup sugar snap peas, julienne cut (cut the ends off and cut once down the length, not on the seam)

1 T chopped fresh mint
2 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t grated lemon rind
1 1/2 T lemon juice
1/4 t salt

Directions:

Steam peas and asparagus in hot water for 4 minutes, rinse with cold water and chill until ready to serve. Whisk together remaining ingredients and set aside until ready to serve. Toss vegetables with oil mixture to coat.

Asparagus and Mushroom Tarts

This weekend we moved to our new place, so first off, I would like to say GOODBYE TINY KITCHEN with 14 inches of counter space and hello new perfect kitchen! I have been without a dishwasher or a garbage disposal for the last two years, and boy have I missed them!















This was the first meal that I made in our new house. My lovely family came down from Roseville to help us move and were a wonderful help to us. I wanted to make them a nice little meal after a long day of moving that we could enjoy lots of wine with. I saw this recipe while reading this month's Bon Appetit and decided to try it. I have been intrigued by tarts lately- they are something I have found plenty of perusing through my vegetarian cookbooks.
















(Adapted from Bon Appetit) Makes 8
Ingredients
1 17.3-ounce package frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), thawed
1/4 cup unsalted butter
12 ounces baby portabello mushrooms, cut into thin pieces
1 t coarse kosher salt
1/2 t coarsely ground black pepper
1 pound asparagus spears, trimmed, cut along length and then into 1" pieces
1 1/2 t chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 t lemon peel
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1/2 cup (packed) coarsely grated Gruyère cheese

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 equal pieces. Set on foil lined cookie sheet. Score the edges of the squares with a knife making a 1/2 inch design around each piece.

In a fry pan, melt butter. Add mushrooms and part of the salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain mixture and let cool.

In a bowl, combine mushrooms through gruyere to make the filling. Mound the filling in the center of each tart. Cook tarts for 12-15 minutes in the oven or until puffed up and golden and filling is cooked through.













I served these with a large garden salad and some balsamic roasted artichoke halves with a basil garlic aioli. To make the aioli, mix a half cup mayonnaise with 1 clove crushed garlic, splash balsamic, and 5 large minced basil leaves and set in fridge for at least an hour. I think everyone enjoyed their meal. Our favorite wine of the evening was Work Vineyard's Syrah.

Spring Chicken

Sorry I am ruining vegetarian month a few days early (I heard Nat had a steak this weekend so I don't feel that bad!). I get about three cooking magazines per month in addition to a stack of cookbooks. I made a goal this month that at least once per week I am going to actually cook something out of these wonderful reads. Tonight Dave and I made chicken that we adapted from the April 2009 Bon Appetit, which highlights using fresh spring ingredients. It was so good that I can't wait until my lunch tomorrow when I get to have it again!

Ingredients:
1/4 c finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 T finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 T minced shallot (I used the whole thing)
2 t grated orange peel
1/2 t grated lemon peel

1 package boneless skinless chicken thighs (trimmed and coated with salt and pepper)
2 T (+) olive oil
1 T butter

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped, discard the dark green parts
1/4 small white onion, finely chopped
1/2 bunch slender asparagus spears, cleaned and trimmed into thirds
3/4 c vegetable broth
2 T cream fraiche

Directions:
Mix first five ingredients in a bowl and set aside. Heat olive oil in heavy skillet. Cook chicken thighs about 3 minutes on each side until cooked all the way through. Remove from heat and put on a plate covered with foil to keep warm.

Add butter and onions to pan. Cook until translucent (about 4 min). Add asparagus and saute 1 minute longer. Salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetable broth to pan. Simmer about 4 minutes until veggies are fully cooked. Add herb and lemon mixture to pan. Add cream fraiche to pan. Cook an additional 2 minutes on low until sauce thickens. Remove veggies with slotted spoon and set aside with chicken. Cook sauce a few more minutes until bubbly.


I served the chicken, veggies, and sauce over wild rice pilaf with a steamed artichoke on the side. Delicious!

Quinoa with Chickpeas, Vegetables and Feta

I thought I should balance out Mel's non-vegetarian dish with something new I created tonight. I had a bunch of vegetables lying around and thought this might make a nice light meal with some quinoa. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah) is an ancient food that is not yet well known in North America. It has been cultivated in South American Andes since at least 3,000 B.C. and has been a staple food of millions of native inhabitants. The ancient Incas called quinoa the "mother grain" and revered it as sacred. My quinoa recipe turned out really colorful and hearty enough that it didn't really need a side dish.

I have been reading a few vegetarian cookbooks (Vegetarian Suppers and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison) that taught me how to cook these grains. These books are really helpful when it comes to the basics of vegetarian cooking. They show how to create virtually anything just like a basic Betty Crocker cookbook would. So far, the vegetarian month has gone easier than expected. I dont' feel that it has changed our lifestyle all that much. Besides the occasional cheeseburger craving, (after almost three weeks), I don't really even want or desire meat anymore. I don't think that this will result in full-blown vegetarianism at the end of this month, but more serve as an eye opener as to what else there is out there to cook besides meat-centered meals. On another side note, I have been reading a book called The China Study which proclaims that for better overall health and less chances of cancer and other diseases, that humans should make meat proteins less than 10% of their diet- more on that later.























Ingredients
2 cups vegetable broth
olive oil
1 cup quinoa
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 a white onion, diced
1/2 cup asparagus tips
1 zucchini, diced
1 can chickpeas
1/4 cup grape tomatoes
1/8 cup kalamata olives
1/8 cup pine nuts
1 bunch watercress, diced
feta cheese for topping
salt, pepper, fennel seeds, oregano, cayenne to taste


















Directions
Boil vegetable broth in small sauce pan. Add quinoa, turn down, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, sautee onion and garlic in large fry pan. After a few minutes, add asparagus, zucchini and chickpeas. When quinoa is almost cooked, add remaining ingredients to heat and season to taste. Pour cooked quinoa over vegetable mixture, stir well and season to taste. Serve topped with a little feta cheese.

Serves 4.

VDay My Way

I made pan seared steaks with blackberry Merlot reduction, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted asparagus, artichokes, and raspberry vanilla bean cream brulee for Love Day. Natalie taught me how to make steaks in a fry pan like this and I prefer them to cooking steaks on the barbecue because they are much more tender and it is easier to control the desired doneness of the meat. The blackberry Merlot sauce has been a family favorite for many years. I remember having it for Valentine's Day when I lived at home. I usually use filet Mignon, but have found that good quality top sirloins are more inexpensive and the added fat actually adds a lot of flavor. It was a hit with the husband!

Ingredients
Steaks
2 top sirloin filets, about 1/2 pound each
4 sprigs of rosemary, stemmed
1/2 stick of butter
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
salt and pepper

Blackberry Merlot Reduction
2 T minced shallots
2 t minced garlic
2 oz seedless blackberry jam
1 cup good Merlot- I used 05 Meridian
1 cup beef broth

Asparagus
1 bunch of petite asparagus rinsed and ends trimmed off
3 T olive oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme, stemmed
3 T store bought crumbled Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
4-5 small Yukon gold potatoes rinsed and chopped with skin on
1 head of garlic
2 T fresh Italian parsley
1 cup half and half
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut the end off a head of garlic and wrap in foil. Place in hot oven for about 20 minutes. Boil medium pan full of water. Add potatoes and cook until you can easily pierce with a fork, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with foil, spread asparagus over baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, Parmesan cheese, thyme, salt and pepper, set aside.


In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together chopped shallots, garlic, jam, Merlot, and beef broth. Bring to a rolling boil and let reduce about 2o minutes until sauce will coat a spoon.

In large fry pan that has sides, slowly heat 1/2 stick of butter, rosemary, and chopped garlic together. Do not let butter burn. Dust top sirloin with salt and cracked pepper, press into sides so it sticks to the meat. When garlic is cooked through and begins to sizzle, add the steaks to the fry pan. Cook about 4 minutes on each side, rotating pan so outer layer browns, but does not burn.

Take seared steaks out of the fry pan and place in a glass baking dish. Pour remaining butter garlic and rosemary mixture over the top. Put a meat thermometer in the center of one of the filets. Put filets and asparagus in the oven about 12 minutes. Cook steaks to 150 degrees in the center (for medium rare).

While steaks and asparagus are finishing in the oven, drain the potatoes and bring back to pan on the stove. Squeeze roasted garlic out of the skins into the potato pan along with 1/4 stick of butter. Mash with a potato masher until blended. Heat half and half in a Pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. Slowly add heated half and half, salt, pepper, and chopped Italian parsley to pot. Whip with potato masher until desired texture is achieved.

Remove steaks and asparagus from oven and plate, plate potatoes, top steaks with blackberry merlot reduction. We enjoyed our dinner with an excellent bottle of Laetitia Vineyards 2006 Pinot Noir Reserve. It was fantastic!

Asparagus with Provolone

I created this dish the other night with roasted chicken and mashed potatoes. I generally love the "prosciutto wrapped asparagus" appetizer and thought that this might be a nice side dish spin on it. These had a nice woodsy/spicy/salty flavor.















Ingredients
one bunch asparagus
good quality olive oil
sea salt
thyme
red pepper flakes
2 ounces provolone cheese, thinly sliced

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking pan with foil and lay down asparagus side-by-side. Drizzle with olive oil and season with the sea salt, thyme and red pepper flakes. Put into oven for 7 minutes. After asparagus cooks a little, add the cheese and cook for another 4 minutes at 350 degrees. Serve warm.