Walnut, Ricotta & Lemon Pasta

Light, clean, simple and fresh. Tastes like a summer evening dinner in the backyard with a string of lights above you while having casual conversations with good friends. Phoebe thinks it tastes gourmet. I think it's deceivingly easy and fun to throw together.

It's been so long since I've last cooked a meal I've forgotten how alive it makes me feel; the vibrant lemon, the pungent and crispy garlic, the cool and smooth ricotta on my fingers, and then the combination of all the elements in my mouth...sensory overload!

Side note: Have you noticed a change in the photos? Ah, Instagram has changed my life. I'm not sure if it's for the better. For the record, none of the photos (before my FIRST dessert bar entry) have any filters nor are they photoshopped in any way. What do you think? I don't know...do you like it? I'm not sure either...

I haven't decided if I like photos in their "natural" state (er, well, as natural as it can get from a digital camera) or tinkered like the above. Only time will tell. In the meantime, enjoy the food. 

1/4 C olive oil
4 large garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
1/2 pound pasta
1 C spinach, cut into thin long strips OR fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves from 1 small bunch, roughly chopped
1 Tbsp finely grated lemon zest (from 1 large lemon)
1/4 C walnuts, toasted well and roughly chopped
1/2 C fresh ricotta cheese

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a small pan over low heat until simmering. Very thinly slice garlic (a mandoline would help if you have one...otherwise reading that will probably only get you coveting). Add to oil and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is pale golden brown and crisp, about 3 minutes. Don't turn the heat too high or overcook, or you'll get some pretty nasty bitter garlic chips. Turn off the heat and spoon the garlic chips into a small bowl, letting the excess oil drain back into the pan (reserve oil). 

When the pasta is ready, drain it and toss with enough garlic oil to coat lightly. Toss with the lemon, spinach/parsley, and walnuts. Dot with cheese, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Toss gently to combine, being careful not to fully incorporate the cheese. Garnish with more parsley leaves and serve with garlic chips.

Serves at least 2

Lemon Pepper Papardelle

Trader Joe's has got these awesome noodles--lightly citrusy with flecks of pepper. There's enough flavor in them to keep your sauces simple and light. For example...

1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
TJ's Lemon Pepper Papardelle (prepared according to the packaging)
Cherry tomatoes, quartered
TJ's kale (pre-washed and chopped)
Shredded parmesan

Heat up the oil in a pan and add the garlic. When garlic is softened, add the vegetables. Toss the cooked noodles in the pan and drizzle with a little more oil and sprinkle with a handful of cheese. Give it another toss and serve immediately. Salt and pepper it to taste.

Spiced Lentil Stew

 

"This stuff is so authentically delicious," says the Chinese girl. Seriously, this dish was so tasty without being complicated. I may not know Indian food apart from restaurants and friends' cooking, but I know I liked this recipe.

1 1/2 C (10.5 oz) lentils--I used green although the recipe called for yellow

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 fresh hot green chiles (Serrano), minced (I omitted)

1 tomato, seeded and finely chopped

1 1/2 tsp firmly packed golden brown sugar

salt

2 Tbsp canola or peanut oil

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 dried red chile (I omitted)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/4 C minced fresh cilantro (optional)

Pick over the lentils, discarding any stones or misshapen or discolored lentils. Rinse and place in a deep pot. Add the coriander, cumin, turmeric, green chiles, and 5 C of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a low boil, uncovered, stirring often, until the lentils are very soft, about 50 minutes.

When the lentils are soft, beat them with a wooden spoon to make a chunky puree. Add the tomato, brown sugar, and 1 tsp sugar and mix until the sugar dissolves. Reduce the heat to very low to keep warm while you make the spice mixture.

In a small frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil. When hot, add the mustard seeds and cover the pan. When the sputtering stops, after about 30 seconds, uncover and add the dried chile. Continue frying until the chile turns almost black, about 30 seconds longer; using tongs, remove and discard the chile. Add the garlic to the pan, stir briefly, and immediately pour the contents of the pan over the lentils. Mix, ladle into small bowls, and serve at once garnished with the cilantro, if desired. 

Serves 6

Quickie "Carbonara"

I can't believe I never thought carbonara sounded appetizing enough to try before. What was I thinking!? I love starch and cholesterol combos! Mmm...the ol' American sunny side egg with toast, the Korean egg-rice bibimbap, the Chinese egg-y noodle. And now I've experienced the yolky egg as pasta sauce! Geniuses, those Italians* are.

It took "my laziness" + "Karen Chen" + "a long day of...the beach? Watching Snoopy cartoons? Hmm...what were we doing??" = the need for a tasty dinner that would require minimal effort. As in, I could even make it with my left foot without spraining my toes if I wanted to. She assured me that it was easy, and it really was!**

Spaghetti, prepared al dente according to package for 1
Olive Oil
1/2 medium onion, sliced
1 egg
cheese
salt & pepper to taste

Heat oil and over medium low heat, cook the onions until brown and soft. Add the cooked noodles and after heating a few minutes, crack the egg into the pan. Stir quickly to coat the noodles in the egg and allow to cook slightly. Remove from heat and sprinkle cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste. You can also prepare the egg sunny side up and then serve on top of the noodles, breaking up the egg directly on your plate, which would reduce the amount of pan cleanup.

Serves 1

*Disclaimer: this recipe is not authentic Italian by any means.
**Please do not attempt to make with left foot.

Brie & Basil Panini w/TJ's Tomato Soup

One day in a Trader Joe's far, far away, two spry lasses found themselves frolicking amongst artisan loaves when suddenly, the cute one turned to the crazy one. Before she could utter a word it was clear. Each one knew what the other was thinking. But of course! That was normal for cute and crazy because they were in the process of being attuned in the same mind and opinion. They knew that in 1 Corinthians, the word attuned means to repair, to restore, to adjust, to mend, making a broken thing thoroughly complete, joined perfectly together. That's right! The Lord was completing them by joining their little hearts and minds together and also by adjusting and restoring them to His big heart and mind. It was a work in progress but cute and crazy enjoyed every bit of the process together.

AH! What were they sinking about?!!?, you screech impatiently. Well, they were setting their one little mind and heart on their handsome Lord Jesus Whose one desire on this earth is to gain His corporate lover by romantically joining Himself to them in spirit. And grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup for lunch, of course!

4 slices of potato bread, lightly brushed with olive oil
Brie, thinly sliced
Basil, chiffoned
Thinly sliced onion
Salt & Pepper

TJ's Roasted Tomato and Bell Pepper Soup, warmed up

Heat a pan. Place 2 slices bread on one side until a little warmed, before it browns. Then flip over one and arrange the brie, basil, onion and a little salt and pepper to taste. Cover with the other slice and heat up, flipping when browned. Serve with a bowl of the soup. Dash a little salt and pepper on the soup and serve immediately. Repeat for the second sandwich.

Makes 2 sandwiches

Quick Mushroom & White Wine Pasta

Quickie meal Vicky and I made using shitake mushrooms (which give it a more Asian twist) we bought from the Milk Pail and ingredients from our pantry.

Olive oil
4 cloves of garlic, minced
5 medium sized mushrooms of your choice
Dry white wine (used a Sauvignon Blanc)
Angel Hair pasta
Salt and pepper to taste

Place a pot on the stove on medium heat and with water according to directions on the package. As it's working its way to boiling, heat about 1 tsp olive oil in a pan and then the garlic. When it softens a bit, add mushrooms. (Is the water boiling yet? Add the pasta and set the timer!)

Cook the mushrooms until softened, then push to the side of the pan. Add about 2 Tbsp of wine. Wait till it's heated then push back the garlic and mushrooms.

When pasta is ready, using a slotted spoon, spoon out the pasta into the pan and toss with more olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2

Sushi Eggs

Growing up, we used a square pan so you wouldn't get those random round scraps. The technique to making these is a cross between an omelet and a pancake.

1 tsp Mirin (if there's none around, you can also use a little rice vinegar and sugar)
3 eggs
1-2 tsp Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp Sesame Seed oil
1 tsp water

Lightly oil a non stick pan and heat on medium heat. When warmed, add enough egg to cover the pan, plus maybe 0.5 cm thick. Let it cook until the tops of the egg layer is almost cooked, then carefully flip with a spatula.

The eggs should be solidly done. Be careful because while hot, it'll break easily. Transfer to a cutting board and allow to cool. Then, gently roll from one edge. Cut.

Rice Cake Curry Soup

A quickie home cooked idea. Everything depends on you. How many rice cake thingies do you want to eat? How salty do you want it? Saltier? Add more curry.

A handful of Rice Cakes (see below)
1 can of chicken broth
Japanese Golden Curry (less than a block)
Green leafy veggies (like bok choy or spinach)

Boil the chicken broth in a pot, when boiling, add the rice cakes. Meanwhile, soften half a block of the curry with 1/2 tsp of water and form into a paste. Right before it hits boiling, (make sure the rice cakes start floating and taste test to see if they're almost done) throw in the veggies and cook for 1 minute for the bok choy, a couple seconds for spinach and then pour in your curry paste.

Don't stir too much...for some reason, it tastes better when it's floating around in only a part of the broth. By the way, if you don't want to use these rice cakes, you can also use udon noodles or any noodles. Just boil them separately till al dente and add them in after the veggies.

Of course, you can always add more to this soup like green onions and cilantro to garnish or some kind of meat, but this one's meant to be super quick and easy.

All Veggie Quiche with Avocado Crema

Next time, I'll try adding 1/2 C chopped tomatoes.

1 (9 inch) baked pastry shell

1 cup chopped onion (half of a large one)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 C poblano chile (or 1 medium green bell pepper), seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
3/4 C baby spinach

1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp basil
1 tsp soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

3 eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Paprika sprinkled on top for color

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, heat olive oil and saute the onion until soft and translucent, add garlic. Add all the spices, then add all the vegetables and cook well until all water has been cooked out.

In a bowl, beat eggs. Add the milk and 3/4 of the cheese; mix well. Carefully pour over vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with the rest of the cheese and paprika. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Serve on a bed of mixed greens and serve with...

Avocado Crema
1/2 of avocado, mashed
dash of powder garlic
1 Tbsp sour cream or yogurt
dash of salt and pepper
a little bit of minced cilantro (to taste)

Serves 4-5

Cheese Grits Casserole

A surprisingly hearty breakfast casserole that's super easy to throw together yet a foavorite of everyone in 2120.

When double, cooking time nearly doubles.

2 C milk
2 C water
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 C uncooked white hominy grits
1 ½ C shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz)
2 medium green onions, sliced
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
1 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp paprika

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and side of 1 ½ quart casserole with oil.

Heat milk, water, salt and pepper to boiling in a 2 quart saucepan. Gradually add grits, stirring constantly; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered about 5 minute, stirring frequently until thickened. Stir in cheese and onions.

Stir 1 C grits mixture into eggs, then stir back into remaining grits in saucepan. Pour into casserole. Cut butter into small pieces; sprinkle over grits. Sprinkle with paprika.

Bake uncovered 35-40 minutes or until set. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Zimbabwe Stew

Soooo good! Smokey, creamy, a tad sweet.

14 oz. package of firm tofu (used 10 oz)
2 T olive oil
1 ½ C chopped green bell peppers (red ones would be nice to look at)
1 ½ C chopped yellow onions (about ¾ of a medium sized one)
1 T minced fresh garlic (about 4-5 cloves)

14.5 oz. can of whole tomatoes (I drained it, which didn’t make quite a stew, but more of a thicker curry)
1/3 C crunchy peanut butter
½ tsp salt
½ tsp chili powder (can be replaced with cayenne or more adobo sauce)
dash cayenne
1 tsp ground red chipotle (I used 2 chipotle peppers that were canned and 2 T of the adobo sauce)

1 ½ C frozen chopped collard greens (used mustard greens)

Drain and rinse the tofu. Pat dry, and cut into ½ to ¾ inch cubes.

Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the onions and sauté till softened, then add the garlic and bell peppers. Cook for about 10 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and cut up using the spoon. Add the peanut butter, salt, chili powder, cayenne and chipotle and cook for approximately 10 minutes again.

Add the collard greens and tofu and simmer until greens are tender or until flavors have blended, at least 15 minutes. Season with salt to taste. I salted a little more and then served with lavosh bread.

Serves 4-5

3 Cheese Pizza with Onions, Sage and Arugula

“Why a trio of cheeses? Fontina for its melting quality and nutty flavor, Gorgonzola for its biting blue punch, and Parmigiano-Reggiano for its uncanny ability to amplify other cheeses.” I’m glad Gourmet wrote that little introduction for this because I wasn’t able to find Fontina at Stater Bros. or Trader Joe’s and instead used Mozzarella—which was a bland alternative, yet had the “melting quality”.

Made for a special Mentor/Mentee time with Sherri Lin! Dough was crisp and thin yet light. Not too airy, nor doughy. Served with sliced pears and TJ salami.

Active time: 45 minutes
Start to finish: 2 ¼ hour

For dough
1 (1/4 oz.) package active dry yeast or 2 ¼ tsp
About 2 C unbleached flour
¾ C warm water (105-115 degrees)
1 tsp salt (originally 1 1/2 tsp)
1 ½ tsp extra-virgin olive oil

For topping
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
¼ lb Italian Fontina, cut into ½ inch pieces (2/3 C) OR about 1 C shredded mozzarella
2 oz Gorgonzola dolce, crumbled
½ C thinly sliced red onion (1 medium)
6 large fresh sage leaves, thinly sliced crosswise (about 1 Tbsp)
½ oz. shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano about ¼ C
¼ lb. loosely packed baby arugula (about 4 C) I used the an herb/spring mix from TJ’s but I thought a plain arugula would have been better

Make Dough
(If using a pizza stone, place it on the oven floor of a gas oven or on the lowest rack if using an electric oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees. Allow for 1 hour for the pizza stone to heat.)

Stir together yeast, 1 Tbsp flour, and ¼ C warm water in a measuring cup and let stand until mixture develops a creamy foam on surface, about 5 minutes. If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.

Stir together 1 ¼ C flour with salt in a large bowl. Add yeast mixture, oil and remaining ½ C warm water and stir until smooth. Stir in enough flour (more or less about ½ C, I used less) to make dough come away from sides of bowl. Dough will be wetter than other pizza doughs you may have made.

Knead dough on lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands (reflour hands when dough becomes too sticky) until smooth, soft and elastic, about 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball, put on a lightly floured surface, and generously dust with flour. Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft-free place until doubled in bulk, about 1¼ hours. Dust a wooden peel or a large baking sheet without sides (I used a baking sheet with short sides with cornmeal or line with parchment paper.

*Really read this paragraph before starting: Do not punch down dough. Carefully dredge dough in a bowl of flour to coat and transfer to a dry work surface. Holding one edge of dough in the air with both hands and letting bottom just touch the work surface, carefully and quickly move hands around edge of dough (like turning a steering wheel), allowing weight of dough to stretch round to roughly 10”. Lay dough flat on peel or baking sheet. Continue to work edge of dough with your fingers, stretching it into a 14” round.

Make Topping
Brush dough with olive oil, leaving a 1” border, then scatter Fontina and Gorgonzola over dough (leaving a 1” border).

Scatter onion and sage leaves over cheese. Sprinkle the pizza with the Parmigiano-Reggiano, then line up far edge of peel with far edge of stone in oven and tilt peel, jerking it gently to start pizza moving. When edge of pizza touches stone, quickly pull back pizza.

Bake until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling, 10-12 minutes. Slide peel under pizza to remove from oven, then top with arugula.

Note: Dough can rise slowly, covered with plastic wrap (or it will dry out on top), in the refrigerator for 1 day. Bring to room temperature before using.

Makes 1 14” pizza, which serves 4-5 people, adapted from Gourmet January 2006

Spicy Peanut Sesame Noodles

A recipe from one of those Joy of Cooking desk calendars.

Sauce
1 C peanut butter
1/4 C rice vinegar or white vinegar
2 T soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced
1 chile pepper, seeded and minced OR 1 tsp cayenne or chile flakes
1 tsp chili oil (optional)
1 1/2 T sugar or honey
1/4 C toasted sesame oil
1/2 C freshly brewed black tea

Noodles & Toppings
1 pound noodles (spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles)
4 C shredded cooked chicken OR julienned firm tofu
Peeled, seeded julienned cucumber
Chopped cilantro
Coarsely chopped peanuts
Julienned carrots
Chopped green onions

Combine the sauce ingredients. If you want it really smooth, you can process it in your food processor or blender.

Boil and drain the noodles. Serve at room temperature.

What's pretty is when you display each topping ingredient in a separate bowl. Serve the noodles and let your guests build their plate. This is how Cristal Chen did it once and it was so yummy and fun and colorful!!

6-8 First-course or 4 main-course servings, adapted from Joy of Cooking

Vegetable Soup

So there are a few options to enhance the flavor of the soup. You can...
1. Make it in advance and let the flavors meld together
2. Use Swanson's chicken broth
3. Throw in a Parmesan rind

2 yellow onions, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
2-4 medium carrots, chopped
1-2 T Italian seasoning, I used Trader Joe's Pasta dried seasoning which is a blend of onion, garlic, basil, lemon peel, fennel, oregano, black pepper, ginger and thyme)

1 medium bell pepper, chopped
14 oz. of washed, chopped collard greens or kale
1 15 oz. can of corn
1 15 oz. can of beans (kidney, garbanzo, cannelloni, or whatever you like really...)

2 15 oz. cans of broth (chicken or vegetable, I used Swanson's low sodium, no msg)

Heat oil in pan until it reaches the smoking point. Add the onions and cook until softened and fragrant, then add the garlic and carrots. Cook until slightly soft and add the seasoning of your choice.

While on the stove, you can prepare the other vegetables and drained the canned corn and beans. Add the bell pepper and collard greens and cook until greens have shrunken down and are a deep green color.

Add the broth and cook on medium high until boiling, then turn down the heat and simmer for at least 15 minutes or till serving. Feel free to add water or salt to adjust to taste.

Serve with parmesan cheese and crusty bread if you'd like.

Pan Fried Falafel

5.11.08
Made for the Adamo Birthday Feast. The boys seemed to like it. Good flavor, yet a little fluffy. Maybe it's because we blended the eggs in the blender instead of adding them in later? We tried frying them in a pan after the baking to make it more crunchy, but it didn't really help. I guess deep frying is the way.

This recipe is an overnighter to soak the beans, but we did it in one day using canned beans. Maybe that also made it too moist. If using canned beans, try reducing the eggs to 2 egg whites.

12.27.08
This time I followed the recipe directions for the chickpeas, but instead of green onions I used yellow onions. And instead of parsley, I used spinach. I think it worked out pretty well. It had a wonderful flavor and it wasn't fluffy! I still think deep frying is the way to get an even crunchy coat on the outside, but pan frying is easier and uses less oil.

Sure, the primary reason I made these was because I have an overstock of pita bread and tzatziki sauce from Yifan's wedding, but the secondary reason was for my roommates and for all the wonderful saints that fed us on Thursday at the open meeting. Soooo sweet! I know it was soggy and looked disgusting, but I really hope they enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed their love and care.

1 C dried chickpeas
1/2 C chopped green onions
1/2 C chopped fresh parsley
1 t baking powder
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t ground red pepper, cayenne
1 whole wheat tortilla, torn into pieces, or any sliced bread (I used 1 pita bread)
2 garlic cloves

3 egg whites

Wash and cover the chickpeas, cover with 2" water, and let stand 8 hours-overnight. Preheat oven to 350. Oil the baking sheet with olive oil.

Combine all ingredients up to garlic in food processor and pulse 8-10 times until finely chopped. Spoon mixture into bowl, add eggs, mix and let stand for 15 minutes.

Heat a pan, add 1 T oil. Using a 1.5 tablespoon scoop, scoop falafel onto the pan, press down with a spatula to make a little cake. Cook until browned and then flip.

Serve with Tzatziki Sauce, sliced cucumbers, sliced red onions, tomatoes and pita bread.

Polenta with Sausage and Spinach Revisited

2.11.08: Ah, the random recipes we can throw together and fall in love with. Thanks Susanne for such a delish dish!

11.21.08: Made a second time...realized that if you use the same pan to cook the spinach after you've cooked the sausage, it will taste saltier than if you use separate pans or cook the spinach first with some oil and garlic...and the spinach gets super squishy. Hmm...

12.3.08: By George, I think I've got it!!! Using the method below is not only super quick, it makes cleaning the pan so much easier AND you don't get sauce drenched spinach...

1 jalapeno
olive oil
1 tube of already made polenta (Trader Joe's or F&E)
1 pre-cooked sausage (Cantella's Andouille Sausage)
2 C of baby spinach
Marinara sauce (Trader Joe's Vodka Sauce)

For a quick meal, heat up a pan or skillet with a little oil, just enough to give the pan a nice shine. (Definitely less than 1 tsp.) When the pan's hot, put the sliced polenta and thin slices of jalapeno on the pan and cook until polenta is a little crisp and the jalapeno browned and slightly withered looking.

On your plate put 2-3 T of vodka sauce and microwave. (If serving guests, feel free to heat up the sauce in a saucepan, first heating a smidgen of oil with minced garlic and then bringing the sauce to a simmer. Then you can plate the sauce onto each plate, about 3-4 T.

Push the polenta to the side of the pan and put a handful or two of fresh baby spinach on the pan and quickly stir around. You don't want the spinach to be completely cooked, just enough so it's not totally raw. Until it's barely starting to wither. Go ahead and put the spinach and jalapenos on the sauce then top with polenta!

And you can stop there if you're in a hurry or you can slice up some sausage afterwards and pan fry without any oil, then top.

Cilantro, Pepita, Pignoli and Almond Pesto

Don't let the fancy names fool you...
Pepita = pumpkin seeds
Pignoli = pine nut
Almond = ...almond

You can use this little sauce:
- mixed with yellow split peas or garbanzo beans as a vegetarian side dish salad. To cook the dried yellow split peas bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add 2 cups (rinsed) dried split yellow peas and cook for 20 -30 minutes, or until tender. Drain, salt to taste and set aside.
- on top of steak or chicken on a bed of butter lettuce and tomatoes as a main dish like so:

1 cup of the mixed nuts (sold at TJ's as), or just pepitas toasted (divided)
1 cup cilantro leaves and stems, well washed and lightly packed
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
3 medium cloves garlic, peeled
juice of 1 medium lemon
1 serrano chile pepper, minced
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Make the cilantro pesto by blending 1/3 cup of the toasted nuts, the cilantro, Parmesan cheese, garlic, lemon juice, and chile pepper with a hand blender (food processor or standard blender) until smooth.

Continue blending as you gradually drizzle in the olive oil until the pesto comes together into a vibrant green sauce. Taste and add a pinch or two or salt if needed.

Serves 6, adapted from 101cookbooks.com

Egg in a Hole

This variation of Mark's specialty dish (heart attack toast) cuts down on the butter from one stick of butter per slice of bread to a mere tablespoon. I was reminded to make this by Melody after a home meeting of delicious spaghetti, sausage and garlic bread. What a way to use leftovers!

sliced sourdough bread
butter
garlic, minced
1 egg
parsley

Mix butter with garlic. Butter a slice of bread on one side.Using the top of a drinking glass (with a diameter of about 2-3"), cut out a circular hole into the bread.

Heat cast iron skillet at medium high and oil a little. Place the bread buttered side down into the pan and crack an egg into the hole. Flip when egg is firm and then top with parsley.

Toast the cut out piece in the pan when finished making the toasts and serve on the side.

Grilled Fontina Cheese Sandwiches

A Susanne favorite.

4 slices of sourdough
4 t olive oil
4 dried figs, minced (or onion or fig jam, also can see fig recipe under sauces)
1/4 onion, thinly sliced
12 oz chilled taleggio or italian fontina, sliced
1/4 lb escarole, center ribs discarded and leaves cut crosswise into 1" pieces
salt and pepper

Heat cast iron skillet until medium high. Either spray or brush olive oil on one side of each of the slices of bread and lay those oiled sides on the pan.

On one slice of bread, lay the cheese slices, top with onions and spread the jam on the other slice of bread (or spread out the figs). When the cheese looks a little melty (watch for the bread that it doesn't get burned), pile the escarole on top and season to taste.

Place the empty slice of bread (the one with jam) on top and press down with a spatula. Heat until cheese is melted, and both sides are golden brown.

Makes 2 sandwiches, adapted from Gourmet's "Grilled cheese with Onion Jam, Taleggio and Escarole Sandwich" February 2008

Spicy Peanut Tofu "Stir-fry"

I guess some places would call it Kung Pao Tofu. Serve like any other Chinese dish--with lots of rice.

1 container of firm tofu cut into 1/2" cubes
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 " ginger root grated on microplane (or you can use 1 t ginger powder)
1 1/4 t red chili flakes (I used 4 whole dry chilies broken open)
1/2 C roasted, unsalted peanuts
4 stalks celery
1 red bell pepper cut into 1" squares

1 T sesame oil
1/8 C (or to taste) teriyaki marinade sauce, mixed with 1 t cornstarch
3 stalks of green onions chopped

Bake tofu on low broil for 15 min or until browned. If on a tight schedule, go ahead and pan fry it without oil (in a nonstick pan, otherwise use a little oil) to dry it up and harden it a little. Set aside on a bowl.

While baking, warm up 1 T oil in pan and saute the garlic and ginger and chili till fragrant. Add peanuts and toast a little. Then add the celery and red bell pepper, stirring frequently. Cook for maybe 1 minute. You don't want to overcook the veggies. Under-cooking is always better here than soggy grossness.

Add sesame oil and sauce mixture and cook till sauce thickens. Toss tofu in, take it off the heat and stir in green onions.