Sweet Potato and Parsnip Chips

I hope you all had a nice holiday!   We sure did have fun going home and meeting my new niece and nephew.   Be both babies are so cute and fun to be around.

Now that we are back at home I had a little time to clean up some of those recipes that I cut out of magazines hoping to make but never getting to them.

These Sweet Potato Chips  have been on my "want to try list" for the longest time but I don't have a madolin slicer.   I decided I had the time and went ahead and made the chips anyway because I was curious about how they would turn out.

I took  washed sweet potatoes and parsnips and sliced them as thin as possible.  I put them on a baking sheet and sprinkled them with oil.  I added kosher salt and thyme.  They baked in the oven at 400 degrees for about 25 -30 minutes.   Since my chips were a little thicker they took a little longer to bake.

They tasted very good but they weren't as crispy as I expected. I think that was due to their thickness.
I would make them again and serve them warm as a side dish. 

Easy Paella

It has been a busy but nice weekend. The weather on Saturday was beautiful!  I am thankful to have a few minutes right now to blog.

I usually order Paella when we go out because I have never considered it an easy dish to make. 
It seems difficult to me because paella usually has a lot of ingredients and takes a long time to make.
This recipe which I adapted from a recipe by Barefoot Contessa is very reasonable as far as time and difficulty level.  I really enjoyed the flavors in this dish and will definately make it again. 

Easy Paella

Ingredients


1/4 cup good olive oil

1  cup chopped yellow onion

2 red bell peppers, cored and sliced into 1/2-inch strips

2 tablespoons minced garlic (4 to 6 cloves)

2 cups white basmati rice

5 cups good chicken stock, preferably homemade

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed

1 teaspoon tumeric *

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 - 2 lbs of shrimp*

1 pound kielbasa, sliced 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick

1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas

1 tablespoon minced fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 lemons, cut into wedges

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions and cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the bell peppers and cook over medium heat for 5 more minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute longer. Stir in the rice, chicken stock, saffron,tumeric, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover the pot. After 15 minutes, stir the rice gently with a wooden spoon, and return it to the heat to cook for 10 to 15 more minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.

While the rice is cooking, slice the kielbasa and brown it in a frying pan in a little oil or butter.

Turn the heat to low for the large pan of paella and add the shrimp, kielbasa, and peas and stir gently. Cover the paella, and allow it to steam for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the parsley, garnish with lemon wedges, and serve hot.

Roasted Pears with Honey and Nuts

Saturday was all about food for us.  We took off for the Dekalb Farmers Market
to go grocery shopping.  The traffic on the highway was terrible but we were determined.
After arriving home and unpacking we sat down to a delicious pulled pork and carmelized onions sandwich - YUM!  The fresh market rolls made it even better. 

A little reading, errands and chores and then on to more cooking.
We made homemade fettucine and pesto for dinner which I will write about soon.
For dessert I made roasted pears with honey and nuts.  I had a few recipes for roasted
pears marked and after looking through them I decided to combine them together to come
up with this recipe.

Roasted Pears with Honey and Nuts
4 pears, peeled, sliced in half and cored
honey
1-2 Tbs. butter
1 cup sweet white wine
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/3 cup cashews
1/4 cup cranraisins
nutmeg

Start by peeling the pears, slicing them in half and coring them.  Take a medium glass
baking dish and rub the sides and bottom of the dish with butter.  Place the pears
in the baking dish face cored side down. Drizzle honey over the pears (about 1/4 cup).  Pour a cup of sweet white wine over the pears.   Bake the pears in the oven for about 40 -45 minutes on 375 turning the pears over half way through the baking ( cook until tender). For the last five minutes I turned up the heat to 450 to carmelized the edges of the pears a little.   While the pears bake I toasted my sliced almonds and cashews in pan with a small amount of butter.  I sprinkled a little sugar over the nuts and then took them out of the pan and set them aside for later.   Once the pears were tender I placed them in serving dishes, reserving the juices in the baking dish.  I place the juices in small sauce pan on the stove.  I added just a little more honey and a pinch of nutmeg and sugar to the juices.  I cooked this on high until it thickened a little.  I poured this over the pears and then topped them with the nuts and cranraisins.

This dessert is delicious and beautiful.  The flavors are amazing !

Roasted Shimp and Orzo

I am feeling extremely grateful right now because my husband cooked dinner several times this week.  I left out the recipes, went to work and came home to a prepared meal.  It was so great!

Roasted Shrimp and Orzo
adapted from Food Network
Ingredients


Kosher salt

Good olive oil

3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)

1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

Freshly ground black pepper

2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts

1 cup chopped fresh dill

1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced

1/2 cup small-diced red onion

3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.


Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Be very careful not to overcook the shrimp.


Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving.

* We did not have Orzo so we used a very small pasta which worked just as well in my opinion.
I really enjoyed this dish.  Love, love the lemon, dill and shrimp combination.    

Corn Cakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Chive Cream

I hope you are not judging me because you noticed that it has been weeks since my last post.  :(
We have been very busy but with good things.  You never need to worry though because cooking and eating is always happening here at our house.

This recipe for Corn Cakes with Smoked Salmon came from
Cooking Light.
1/4 cup light sour cream
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind
2.25 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
 1 1/4 cups fresh corn kernels, divided (about 3 ears)
 2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 large egg
12 thin slices cold-smoked salmon (about 6 ounces)

Directions

1. Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; chill.

2. Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a medium bowl. Combine 1 cup corn kernels, buttermilk, butter, and egg in a blender; process until coarsely pureed. Add pureed corn mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup corn.

3. Pour about 2-3 tablespoons batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet; spread gently with a spatula. Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Arrange 2 pancakes on each of 6 plates; top each pancake with 1 slice salmon and 1 teaspoon lemon-chive cream.    

I have to admit that I liked this dish more than I thought I would. I did not have fresh corn when I started to make this recipe.  I used frozen white, sweet corn.  This is a savory with a wonderful blend of flavors.  

Broiled Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes

I hope you are all enjoying a wonderful Labor Day.
We have spent the weekend catching up with old
friends which was so nice!

We did our market shop this weekend and so
I have so many good choices to make for dinner.
This one is a new recipe that came out of

an Italian Step by Step cookbook.  I changed a few

of the ingredients and added the roasted tomatoes to

top of the dish.   

Broiled Polenta wtih Fennel Seeds

4 cups water

1 2/3 cup instant cornmeal ( I used half cornmeal , half polenta)

2 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp fennel seeds ( I decided to put them in my nut grinder instead of leaving them whole)

1/2 cup toasted almonds ( I added this ingredient and also put it in the nut grinder)

2 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
olive oil
salt and pepper

*Cheese is optional

Heat the water, add salt and bring to a boil.  Sprinkle in the cornmeal, stirring .
Stir the cornmeal for about 10-15 minutes over a medium heat.  The cornmeal will

begin to thicken and come away from the sides of the pan.  Take the pan off the heat

and add the butter, fennel, nuts and parsley.  Season with a little salt and pepper.
Brush or spray a rectangular dish with oil (medium - small dish).
Spoon the polenta in the dish and smooth out the surface.

 Let sit a few minutes until the polenta sets.
Flip the polenta over onto a cutting board (carefully).  Turn your broiler on high. 
Cut the polenta into slices.  Place the slices on a baking dish and brush with oil.

Put them in the oven on broil until the tops become lightly brown and crispy.

I also made roasted cherry tomatoes to put over the top.

I take cleaned cherry tomatoes and put them in dish with 

olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, sliced garlic.

I put them in the oven on 400 degrees for about 35 minutes. 

At the end, when they are done cooking I add fresh basil.   

My polenta was served with a little Asiago cheese and

roasted tomatoes.

Tomato Tart

I found this fabulous recipe for a Tomato Tart in Cooking Light.
I had to hurry up and try it before tomato season is over.
We still have good tomatoes at some of the local farmer's markets
so I made this tart for dinner last week with a nice garden salad.

Tomato Tart
from Cooking Light
(with a few small changes)
 (14.1-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough or a pre-made pie crust
Cooking spray
2 1/2 ounces fontina cheese, shredded (about 2/3 cup)
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped
1/3 cup sliced shallots
3 heirloom tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cornmeal
1 tablespoon thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/4 cups 2% reduced-fat milk
1 1/2 tbs.  grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered


Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. Roll dough to a 12-inch circle; press into a 9-inch deep-dish tart or springform pan coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with fontina, olives, and shallots. Arrange half of tomato slices over shallots Combine flour, cornmeal, and thyme; sprinkle over tomatoes. Top with remaining tomato slices; sprinkle with 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

3. Combine milk, Parmigiano-Reggiano, and eggs; pour into pan. Bake at 350° for 40 minutes or until set; let stand 10 minutes. Top with basil.

4. Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt and cherry tomatoes. Slice tart; serve with cherry tomatoes.

* I made a few minor changes.  First, I used a pre-made crust . If you are going to do this you have to be careful how high you fill the tart.  For our tart, I cut up three different types of tomatoes: roma, heirloom and cherry tomatoes.  I also increased the amount of fresh parmesan to 1/3 cup. I had some pancetta so I added it into the tart as well.  My tart took a little longer than 40 minutes to bake but I would suggest checking on it as it cooks to determine when it is done. 

It was very, very good!