Zucchini Ricotta Cheesecake

This one came from Heidi at 101 cookbooks. I was in a "need more veggies but not in a boring, usual steamed way" mood and this sounded interesting. Senor requested that it have some meat in it so I obliged by adding a small amount of cooked ground Italian sausage. Overall, not difficult to make. Not overly amazing either. I think the dill was a bit much...maybe next time I'll try more cheese (parmesan or sharp cheddar) and change the dill for tarragon or Herbs de Provence. I think with those substitutions it would make a lovely meal. Also, perhaps adding more egg, less ricotta. AND finally changing out the zucchini for other vegetables...SOOOOO yeah, pretty much we decided we'd clean the slate and start with a whole new recipe. It did not photograph either. Although, I also waited until 0' dark 30 to take a picture too.

Lemon Souffle!

This recipe came from a recent Martha Stewart magazine my mom was perusing and I saw this at the end...it was a must try given how much I love lemon desserts and the chocolate souffle we make. I was curious to say the least.

In true Martha fashion it was good but also time-consuming and dirty-dish prolific. I am sort of a one-bowl wonder these days; so this put a serious crimp in my style. I can't say I'll make them again...they weren't that amazing, I may try tinkering with a version of my own in the future. If I succeed I'll let you know. In the meantime, try this one if you're up for a moderate cooking challenge and have some time and dishes to spare!

Parmesan Crusted Salmon

I once ate at a schwanky seafood restaurant and ordered the parmesan crusted salmon. At the time I did not like seafood and had eaten fish on less than 2 occasions, my girlfriends had chosen the restaurant for an annual celebration so I chose what seemed the least offensive item on the menu and it was served with asparagus and mashed potatoes so even if I hated the fish I knew I'd still have some yummy veggies on my plate.
The fish was amazing. I pined after it for several years until I decided to venture into the culinary wild (for me) and try to replicate it at home. I did and it was a success. I've since prepared my own version several times.
Funny, we returned to the restaurant last month with friends and when I ordered it the nostalgia wasn't maintained. Senor even commented that he liked my version better...so here you are.
Parmesan Crusted Salmon (Served with fresh pomagranate and steamed edamame)
1 lb wild Alaskan Salmon-fresh
1 Tbsp butter, softened+2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 c butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2-3/4 c bread crumbs (italian is best)
1/4 c parmesan cheese, grated/shredded
1/4 c finely, FINELY chopped almonds
1-2 Tbsp parsley
1/2 t salt
1/4 tsp thyme/poultry seasoning
1/8 tsp black pepper +/-
Preheat oven to 350

1. Smear softened butter & lemon juice together and then onto fish (should be on aluminum foil covered cookie sheet)
2. In a bowl combine bread crumbs, cheese, almonds, parsley, salt, pepper and thyme. Using a fork or pastry knife blend butter into mix to create a crumbly mixture. Stir in garlic.
3. Smoosh crumbly mixture over salmon, softly pressing to keep in place
4. Bake til fish is done...12-15 min??

Spinach + Sweet Potato Gratin

I found this recipe from Smitten Kitchen and her description was dead-on for how I feel about eating such yumminess as mashed potatoes. I also had just read this article ("Like this? Eat that") basically saying if you liked certain common veggies you might try some other ones similar to them for more vitamins/nutrients, etc...one example being spinach, try swiss chard. And since I'm trying to incorporate more veggies into our meals but also maintain my caloric needs I thought this sounded like a great compromise.

It's not the most appetizing-genic food but Deb made it look prettier. The final result was interesting and delicious. Not what I had expected but quite tasty and a nice change of veggie pace.

I could not find swiss chard so I used frozen chopped spinach. Here's my 1/4rted version of the dish:
2.5 Tbsp butter (divided)
1/4 c finely chopped onion
1 10-oz pkg frozen, chopped spinach--thawed and drained
good pinch nutmeg
1/2 c milk (2%)
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp flour
2 med-large sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/8" rounds
1-2 Tbsp dried parsley
1-2 tsp dried thyme
3-4 oz smoked gyuere, shredded (keep about 1-2 oz aside for the top of the dish)
salt/pepper
1. preheat oven 400F, grease 8x8 pan.
2. In non-stick skillet melt 1 Tbsp butter; sautee spinach, onion, nutmeg, salt/pepper--set aside
3. In bowl, heat milk and garlic in microwave til it's warm and aromatic
4. In small sauce pan melt 1.5 Tbsp butter, whisk in flour and con't whisking for 1 min.--remove from heat. slowly add in the milk mixture til smooth. season with salt and pepper.
5. Cover bottom of pan with layer of 1/2 potatoes. then 1/4 herbs, 1/4 cheese, 1/2 spinach mixture, 1/4 herbs, 1/4 cheese, 1/2 milk mixture; remaning potatoes, etc...top the final product with about 1/2 the cheese.
Bake 30-45 min (covered) til bubbly and brown...remove foil for last 5-10 min for desired browness.

Vinaigrette

We have used this vinaigrette so much and each time we have to dig it out of my computer. It is just simpler to post it:

1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon poppy seeds

This makes a lot, we normally quarter it. It is great with spinach and strawberries. Even better with a few candied nuts. Enjoy!

3 Milks...

Tres Leches, 3 Milks, sweet goodness, whatever you want to call it...I love it.
So, NO, I have not been back in the kitchen since Little Bit debuted in the world last week. Been no need to since so many have been so generous and kind and supplied our fridge and mouths with more food than we could ever consume!
Yesterday I woke up craving milk, perhaps due to the great amount exiting my body at a high volume, but in either case we didn't have any in the house. BUT there was hope, my friend Sarah was bringing over a delicious dessert...none other than Pioneer Woman's Tres Leches cake.
Needless to say, I consumed approximately half it yesterday. Perhaps the other half will go today. You must try it, now. Thanks Sar!!

Apple Strudel by Senor

Senor here, this weekend we took a short trip into the mountains and bought ten pounds of delicious apples. I highly recommend buying apples now, even if you don't make strudel, they're in season and scrumptious. And since I had been dreaming about apple strudel, I knew I wanted to make some. Cherie helped me find a recipe and I went to town and Cherie mostly stayed out of the kitchen; you know the power struggles that can occur with two chefs in the kitchen.

The dough was easier than I expected to roll out thin. It worked fine, I just used a rolling pin I didn't make it to 2ft x 3ft. Made it to 20" x 25"...it was fine.

The raisins were soaked overnight in apple juice instead of rum. We used way too many apples, I would use 3 or 4 apples instead of the six we had. I am adding more nuts, raisins, cinnamon and sugar next time, make it a little more decadent.

If you follow the recipe the dough works pretty well, it only stuck to the kitchen towel in a few spots and had to scrape it off with a knife.

The hardest part of the recipe was after it was baked not eating it for 30 minutes.

The crust was flaky, good texture, and the apples had great flavor, once we added some sugar back on top it was pretty near perfect and tastes like what we had in Eastern Europe from what I remember from 2007.

Will make again, and again.