Tonight's Dinner

Tonight's dinner was excellent, except for the corn on the cob...we bought it at the farmer's market with great expectations, but I think it's a bit early because it really didn't have any flavor at all unfortunately.

Here are the recipes I used. The top of the plate is roasted CSA cauliflower (absolutely to die for delicious) Turkey cutlet--using the garlic scape pesto, CSA tomatoes, walla walla sweet onion from farmer's market, and goat cheese from farmer's market. Swiss chard gratin--CSA Swiss chard, farmer's market goat cheese.

Roasted Cauliflower (from http://www.elise.com/)

1 head of cauliflower

2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely minced

1 lemon

Olive oil

Salt and Pepper

Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut cauliflower into florets and put in a single layer in an oven-proof baking dish. Add garlic. Squeeze a lemon over cauliflower and drizzle each piece with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. If the oven hasn't reached 400°F yet, set aside until it has. Place casserole in the hot oven, uncovered, for 15-25 minutes, until the top is lightly brown. Test with a fork for desired doneness. Remove from oven and sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Turkey Cutlet Parmigiano (From Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 Walla Walla Sweet onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

Salt and pepper

3-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 eggs

1 cup Italian bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 pounds turkey breast cutlets

1 pint grape tomatoes (I used four small regular tomatoes, sliced and halved)

1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken stock (I used wine)

1 cup good quality pesto sauce

Sliced mozzarella cheese (I used goat cheese)

For the tomato topping, preheat a medium size skillet over medium high heat with the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the onions, garlic, salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are translucent.

While the onions are cooking (or if you are me and would burn the onions, after the onions are done and removed from the heat for awhile) set up the breading station for the turkey cutlets. Place the flour in a shallow dish, in another dish beat together the eggs with a splash of water. In a third dish, combine bread crumbs and parmesan. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large skillet, over medium to medium-high heat. Season the cutlets with salt and pepper on each side, dredge through flour, then eggs, then breading. Cook in a single layer for 3-4 minutes each side, until juices run clear and breading is evenly browned. Remove the cooked cutlets to a plate lined with a paper towel.

To the skillet with the onions, add the tomatoes and wine. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes start to burst and the wine has reduced by half.

Preheat the broiler.

Arrange the cooked cutlets on a cookie sheet. Top each with a little of the warm tomato topping, top that with a little pesto, and top that with slices of cheese. Place the cookie sheet under the broiler and broil until the cheese warms and melts, but has not browned. Serve immediately.

Bright Lights Chard Gratin (From Local Flavors by Deborah Madison)

2 pounds chard, including half of the stems

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 onion, finely chopped (I used part of a Walla Walla sweet onion)

sea salt and ground pepper

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

1 garlic clove, minced

3 tablespoons chopped dill or parsley

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup milk or cream or a mixture of cream and stock

1 cup crumbled fresh goat cheese

Separate leaves and chard stems. Wash lthe leaves in plenty of water, then coarsely chop them. Trim the ragged edges off the stems, wash them well, then dice them into small pieces.

Melt half the butter in a wide skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and chard stems and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion has begun to brown a bit, about 20 minutes. Add the chard leaves, sprinkle with salt and cook until they are wilted and tender, about 10 more minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 and lightly oil a 2 quart baking dish. Melt half the remaining butter in a small skillet and add bread crumbs, garlic, and dill. Cook, stirring for about a minute, then scrape the crumbs into a bowl and return the pan to the heat.

Melt the last tablespoon of butter, stir in the flour, then whisk in the milk. Simmer for 5 minutes, season with salt and add to the chard mixture. Add the cheese, then taste and correct for seasoning.

Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and cover with bread crumbs. Bake until heated through and golden on the surface, about 25 minutes.

Kids Cooking--Lasagna

We had our first adventure with Kids Cooking Summer Camp online. This week's theme was Italian. Here are the kids making the lasagna:

Vegetable lasagna (my modifications from the cooking camp recipe)

Lasagna noodles, uncooked

1 small/medium zucchini, sliced thin

2 carrots, shredded

1 small/medium yellow summer squash (we used patty pan)

1/2 cup chopped onion

4 cups spaghetti sauce or large jar (we used two jars of organic Ragu sauce, we love sauce)

1 pound cremini mushrooms, sliced

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

15 oz or 2 cups cottage or ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

2 Tablespoons dried parsley

2 large eggs

1 cup mozzarella cheese, for the top

Saute garlic in olive oil and add vegetables and spaghetti sauce. Let simmer about 8-10 minutes until vegetables are tender. In separate bowl mix cottage cheese, Parmesan, parsley, mozzarella cheese (save some for sprinkling on the top) and eggs. Spread a thin layer of sauce on bottom of a 8x11 or 13x9 pan. Lay lasagna noodles on bottom of pan. Spread cottage cheese mixture over top of noodles. Spread more sauce on top of noodles. Continue layering in pan until the pan is full. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and bake covered at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until noodles are tender.

They also made bruschetta (the only modification I added was that I added a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, which I think makes bruschetta taste better)

1 Loaf Italian bread cut diagonally in slices

1 Garlic clove; minced

2 Tablespoon Olive oil

2 Large Tomatoes; peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Pepper

1/2 Cup Chopped fresh basil

On a cookie sheet place sliced bread. Broil several minutes until golden brown. Meanwhile stir garlic and olive oil together. Brush each bread slice with garlic oil. Spread chopped tomatoes on top of each bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Warm in the oven. Sprinkle with chopped fresh basil and serve.

They also made biscotti:

Italian Biscotti

This Italian cooking lesson is making biscotti which is like a hard cookie often served with a beverage.

3 1/2 cups flour

1 cup almonds chopped

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup butter, melted

dash of lemon or orange zest

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl including flour, baking soda, salt and nuts. Set aside. In mixing bowl beat together eggs, sugar, butter, zest, vanilla and almond extract. Slowly stir in flour mixture. Blend together. Place dough on a floured surface and divide in two. Shape dough into a long loaf. Lay both loaves on a greased cookie sheet. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes or until firm and lightly golden brown. Cut loaves diagonally into slices. Place on cookie sheet and bake another 10-15 minutes turning over once. Biscotti will become crisp and you can cool on wire rack.

Couscous

Here's a couscous recipe where I used some zucchini and patty pan summer squash. I ended up using a whole small-medium zucchini and a whole medium yellow patty pan squash. It wasn't overpowering at all. I also sprinkled some feta cheese on the top. It is some goat cheese we purchased at the farmer's market. Yum!

Blue Rose Dairy is the vendor we purchase the cheese from.

Basil Couscous with Summer Squash

2 cups chicken broth

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp salt

1 cup couscous

1 cup zucchini -- 1/4" dice

1 cup squash, yellow -- 1/4" dice

1 cup basil -- slivered

1/4 cup Almonds -- toasted and sliced

Bring the chicken stock and 1 tbsp of olive oil to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in salt and couscous. Remove from heat. Let stand covered for 5 minutes. Saute the zucchini and yellow squash in the remaining oil. Add vegetables, almonds, and basil to couscous and mix well. Serve immediately.Or carve out centers of zucchini or squash and steam shells. Fill with couscous. Sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds.

Vegetables

Here's this week's veggies. I didn't take a picture last week, it was just too busy. We had a funeral and the kids were out of town so we had a couples' weekend!

New Reviews

Here are the newest reviews I have posted. Hopefully later today I'll post some more about what I've been cooking lately. The kids made dinner last night and it turned out really well!

Madame Mirabou's School of Love

Method Man

If I could just find the time to write reviews (and more time to read) life would be grand. But it's terribly busy around here with all of the summer activities.

Newest Reviews and Last Month's Reading

Here are my newest posted reviews. Summer is so busy! I have been cooking but not taking pictures, bad me. I'll be better later this week I promise.

There is More to the Secret

How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls

Frenemies

Wedding Bell Blues


My June Reads:

83. There is More to the Secret by Ed Gungor B
84. Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin B- (From TBR)
85. The Virgin of Small Plains by Nancy Pickard B- (From TBR)
86. And the Shofar Blew by Francine Rivers A- (From TBR)
87. Doesn't She Look Natural? by Angela Hunt B
88. The Baby Chronicles by Judy Baer C
89. Days and Hours by Susan Meissner B
90. Hollywood Nobody by Lisa Samson B-
91. Sushi for One? by Camy Tang B
92. Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd B-
93. Echoes by Kristen Heitzmann C+
94. An Irish Christmas by Melody Carlson C+
95. Just Beyond the Clouds by Karen Kingsbury B-

Audio:
10. The Man of My Dreams by Curtis Sittenfeld C

So I got three down from the tbr mountain, like it even made a dent--no--books are added much more quickly than they are taken away. But I am sticking with my goal to read them.