Ricotta Pie

This is one of those kid-friendly, super fast and easy dinners that we make about once per week.  The recipe is from my mother-in-law and is one that my husband ate a lot of growing up!  Good thing he likes it.....

ingredients:

1 lb good quality, whole milk, ricotta
3 eggs
7-10 swiss chard leaves, lightly steamed
1 cup mozzarella, sharp cheddar or your favorite cheese

parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  After steaming the swiss chard lay it on a towel to dry.  Meanwhile mix the ricotta, cheese, eggs and salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Chop the swiss chard and add it to the bowl.  Mix.  Pour the ricotta mixture into a 8 inch baking dish.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake for about 50 minutes until golden brown and puffy.

It makes a complete meal when served with brown rice and a salad.

Serves 4

Recipe from TM

Bacon Cheeseburger and a Delicious Homemade Roll

We don't eat a lot of meat in our house.  We really like it, but we try to limit our meat intake to once or twice a week.  On the days when we do eat meat we try make something extra delicious.  During the summer, with the hot weather and a barbecue, it is pretty easy to accomplish this task - and a juicy burger is always one of our favorites.  

I make the buns and that is a large part of what makes this burger so amazing.  The recipe comes from Macrina bakery's MORE from MACRINA cookbook.  They are fairly easy and make enough that you should have extras to keep in the freezer.  

Bacon hamburger (no cheese on this one) with grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and garlic mayonnaise 

for the hamburger rolls:

ingredients:
³⁄₄ cup lukewarm water (80°F)
³⁄₄ cup lukewarm whole milk (80°F)
1¹⁄₂ teaspoons active dry yeast
¹⁄₄ sugar
2 large eggs
¹⁄₃ cup olive oil
4¹⁄₄ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2¹⁄₂ teaspoons kosher salt
1 large egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

Lightly oil a medium bowl with canola oil.  Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper and fill a spray bottle with water.

In a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the water, milk, yeast and sugar on low speed for 30 seconds.  Let the mixture sit for 3 minutes.

Add the eggs and olive oil and mix for about 1 minute.  Add the flour and salt.  Mix on low speed for 2 more minutes.  Switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 10-13 minutes.  Toward the end of the mixing time you will notice that the dough develops a ball around the hook, but it will still be tethered at the base of the bowl.  You should hear a slight slapping sound as it goes around.  With floured fingers, pinch a big piece of dough and pull it away for the dough ball.  It should stretch about 3 inches without tearing.  If it doesn't pass this test, mix for another 1-3 minutes.  Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let it rise for 2 hours.  It will double in size.

Gently place the dough on a floured work surface.  Divide the dough into twelve 3-ounce pieces.

Shape each piece of dough into a ball by flattening it and then gathering the edges toward the center. Flip the dough over so the ball is seam side down and cup the roll in the palm of your hand (keep your fingertips and the heel of your hand resting on the work surface) and move your hand in a circular motion to tighten the roll.  Place the rolls about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.  Lightly cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise at room temperature for 1 to 1¹⁄₂ hours.  The dough will be soft and springy to the touch when it's ready to bake.

About 20 minutes before baking, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400°F.

Brush one set of rolls all over with the egg wash.  Use the spray bottle to heavily mist the inside of the oven with water.  Insert the egg washed rolls into the oven.  Mist twice more during the first 10 minutes of baking.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until the rolls are a deep golden brown.  Transfer the rolls onto a wire rack by sliding them (parchment too) from the baking sheet.  After 10 minutes, remove the parchment and cool the rolls for another 20 minutes.

Egg wash the second set of rolls.  Heavily mist the oven again and insert the rolls into the oven.  Follow the same directions as above.

Use the rolls immediately or freeze for up to 3 weeks in freezer bag.

Makes 12 rolls.

From Leslie Mackie's MORE from MACRINA

for the hamburgers:

ingredients:
1 lb lean, grass-fed ground beef
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt
pepper
1 large onion sliced into rings
8 slices cooked bacon
sharp, white cheddar cheese
sliced tomato
red butter lettuce

Mix first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl and form into patties.  Barbecue.  Just before hamburgers are finished add cheese to melt.  Makes 4-5 burgers depending on size.  Brush the onion rings with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.  When the burgers are almost done add the onions and grill for about 4-5 minutes, flipping once.

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

for the garlic mayonnaise:

ingredients:
¹⁄₂ cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste

Mix all of the ingredients in a small bowl.  Set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Adapted from Lynn Alley's Cooking with Fresh Herbs

for assembly:

Lightly spread some of the garlic mayonnaise on the cut side of each bun.  Grill the buns for a few minutes or until there are light grill marks on each side.  Remove.  Add more garlic mayonnaise to taste.  Place the burger on the bottom of the bun, add bacon, onions, tomato and lettuce.  Open wide and enjoy!

Shakshuka

This is one of those dishes that I had never heard about and then all of a sudden I started to hear about it in different places.  It's a North African egg dish - the eggs are cooked in a yummy tomato sauce with lots of spices and feta cheese.  The sauce freezes well if you want to make extra.  It's a little bit on the spicy side, but our kids don't seem to mind.

There are lots of different variations but the one we've liked and used is from David Lebovitz.

Ingredients:

 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
¹⁄₂ – 1 chile pepper, stemmed, sliced in half, deseeded, and minced
1¹⁄₂ teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika, smoked or sweet
³⁄₄ teaspoon ground cumin
¹⁄₂ teaspoon turmeric
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and diced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 cup (20g) loosely packed greens, such as radish greens, kale, Swiss chard, or spinach, coarsely chopped
4 ounces (about 1 cup, 115g) feta cheese, cut in generous, bite-sized cubes

cilantro (optional)
4 to 6 eggs

Heat the olive oil, in a large, deep skillet or sauté pan, over medium high heat. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 5 minutes, until soft. Add the chile pepper, the salt, pepper, and spices. Cook for a minute, stirring to release their fragrance.

Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, honey, and vinegar, reduce the heat to medium, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened somewhat but is still loose enough so that when you shake the pan it moves around. Stir in the chopped greens.

Turn the heat down to medium and drop the feta into the tomato sauce. Make 6 indentations in the sauce. Crack an egg into each indentation.

Keep the sauce at a gentle simmer, and cook for about 10 minutes, taking some of the tomato sauce and basting the egg whites from time-to-time. Cover, and cook 3 to 5 minutes, until the eggs are cooked to your liking.  Top with cilantro, if using.

Serve with good bread to soak up the sauce.

Serves 4-6

Adapted from David Lebovitz

Quick and Easy Ice Cream Sandwiches

We like to make things from scratch - ice cream, cookies, caramel sauce etc....but sometimes life gets in the way and it's just not possible.  For those days when I need a fun dessert or am just craving something sweet but seem to have no time for anything...all I need  is a few minutes and few ingredients:

Take 2 of these

Spread a little of the caramel sauce on the insides of both cookies and put a small scoop of chocolate ice cream in the middle

Close the cookie up, add a little shaved chocolate and voila!  A tasty, tiny treat!  They can be a bit messy especially with a 3 year old "helping", but that's part of the fun of it :)

Grilled Salmon with Brown Sugar and Salt

Growing up in Seattle meant eating a lot of salmon.  At our house that was about once a week.  My dad was always (and still is) in charge of the fish and the barbecue.  We NEVER (and I mean never) cooked fish inside the house.  My mom hates the smell of fish in the house.  So rain, shine, sleet, or hail my dad had to barbecue our fish outside.  And he always made it the same way: rubbed with brown sugar and salt. It has this delicious sweet and salty taste to it and to this day it is my favorite way to eat salmon.  

 Ingredients:

The amounts listed in the ingredients are rough numbers.  You really can't go wrong.

1 lb salmon
1/4 cup brown sugar (a good sized handful will do)
1 tablespoon good quality, course sea salt (a good sprinkle or a very generous pinch, is all you need)
optional: wood chips

Preheat your gas or charcoal grill.  If using, add the wood chips (make sure to follow the directions on the package). Remove the bones from the fish and rub with brown sugar and salt.  Cook the fish for about 15-20 minutes (depending on the heat of your grill and how well done you like your fish).

Remove and serve immediately.

It is great served on top of a salad or with rice and vegetables.

Serves 2.

Vegetable Stock

In an effort to eat less meat and more vegetables we purchased a cookbook from this vegetarian restaurant, in Madison Park, called Cafe Flora.  Included in the book is this recipe, which is more like a guide, to making vegetable stock.  And it is nothing like the vegetable stock you purchase at the store.  It has lots of flavor.  And the best part is....it's basically free.  You just freeze all of your vegetable scraps until you have enough to make about 16 cups of stock.

Before I get to the ingredients there are some general guidelines:

1.  If you're using organic vegetables you don't need to peel them
2.  If you can't find fresh herbs, just leave them out
3.  Use all of the scraps, the mushroom stems, the onion peel, etc....
4.  Don't use any strong flavored vegetables (such as peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or cilantro) or anything with a distinct color (such as beets) - I tend to stick with carrots, celery, mushrooms & onions
5.  Mushrooms are a must, the more, the better. They give the stock a really good flavor.
6.  Freeze the stock in the amounts you want to use i.e. I freeze mine in 2 cup containers

Ingredients:

1 gallon bag of frozen vegetables
6 garlic cloves, slightly smashed
Sprigs of rosemary
Sprigs of thyme
Sprigs of oregano
2 bay leaves
2 potatoes
Little bit of salt

Put all of the ingredients into a large pot.  Cover with 4¹⁄₂ quarts of water and add a bit of salt.  Bring to a boil, lower the heat and then simmer uncovered for 1 hour.

Makes about 16 cups.

Adapted from Catherine Geier's, CAFE FLORA COOKBOOK

Fresh Herb Scramble with Humboldt Fog Goat Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes

Scrambled eggs: they're easy and they're good but I never feel like I can make them "pretty" enough to serve for a nice breakfast.  Until I found this recipe from Leslie Mackie's, MORE from MACRINA  cookbook.  They are still easy and delicious they just look really nice too!  The recipe calls for several types of herbs but since we always have chives growing in our yard we just use the chives.  I've included the original recipe with the herbs in case you want to use more than just fresh chives.

Herb Scramble shown with an Apple Cinnamon Pull-Apart

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt
4 ounces Humboldt Fog goat cheese
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh italian parsley
1 tablespoon butter, for the egg pan

Toss the cherry tomatoes with the oil and a pinch of salt in a medium bowl.  Set aside.

Cut the goat cheese vertically, starting at the tip of the wedge and moving toward the wider back.  This cheese naturally falls apart at the center ash line - let it crumble.  Set aside.

Crack the eggs into a medium bowl and add the chervil, chives and parsley.  Whisk to combine.

In a large sauté pan set over medium heat, add the butter.  When it is melted add the eggs.  Using a rubber spatula gently move the cooked eggs aside, allowing the liquid eggs to run to the bare surfaces of the pan and cook.  When the eggs are cooked to your liking, season to taste with salt.

To serve, divide the eggs among 4 plates.  Top each plate with one-quarter of the seasoned tomatoes and one-quarter of the cheese.

Serves 4.

Recipe from Leslie Mackey's, MORE from MACRINA