Hurricane Pasta

In preparation for the hurricane (which seems to be winding down, and so far I still have power, yay!) we tried to eat as much as possible from the refrigerator.  Early in the day, we made some pita "pizzas" to use some of the mozzarella and other cheeses.  We roasted bell pepper, eggplant and yellow squash to put on top.  We had leftover veggies and tomato sauce, and used barely any of the mozzarella, so for dinner we decided to make a throw-together pasta dish.

We cooked 1/2 package of whole wheat fettuccine, then put the tomato sauce (5-6 oz) in a pot.  I added the already-roasted veggies, about 1.5-2 cups.  We sliced a clove of garlic into the pot, and I added fresh basil, oregano and chives, super easy since all my herb plants were inside!  Finally we added 4 diced cherry tomatoes and a big pinch of salt and we let it simmer just enough to heat up.  We topped the pasta with the sauce and then diced fresh mozzarella, finishing it off with a grating of Parmesan or Romano... not sure which.  It was surprisingly tasty.  Making dishes like this really inspires my confidence.  I know I can make something good if I just focus and put forth some effort.

Stuffed Shells

Heidi at 101 Cookbooks made these Stuffed Shells on the first night she moved into her new apartment.  I made it for Ken - he loves meals like this.  I used Roasted Tomato Marinara from the freezer and added some chopped spinach to the filling for a few extra nutrients.  We made about half the shells for dinner and froze the rest.  This was a great meal - comfort food at its best.  And best of all, I've got a whole dinner in the freezer for a night when I don't feel like cooking.  One quick note - Heidi puts lemon zest in her ricotta mixture.  I personally loved it and barely noticed it at all, but Ken thought it was too lemony.  Next time I might cut back just a bit.

Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Tart

I had a delicious acorn squash and sausage tart at a friend's house, from a book called Cooking from the Farmers' Market, a Williams-Sonoma cookbook.  I literally read it cover to cover while we sat at their house waiting for dinner to be ready, and later I asked her to bring it over so I could take down some recipes to try.  The book is organized by types of fruits/vegetables, so it's perfect for the person who doesn't know what to do with, say, 10 eggplants.  There are at least 3 recipes for each thing.  I've got a glut of tomatoes right now, so the Rustic Tomato and Mozzarella Tart sounded perfect to me - not to mention it was on puff pastry, like the acorn squash and sausage tart, which is, of course, delicious.

I was a little skeptical as I assembled this tart.  It looked kind of like a white pizza, but on puff pastry.  It is full of cheese and other fats.  But oh boy, was it delicious.  I think the key here is the garlic butter you spread on the puff pastry sheets before layering the cheese and tomatoes on top.  The basil slivers really brightened it up.  I used two stripey red and yellow heirloom tomatoes, which made for a beautiful presentation.

Not only would I like to make this again, but it inspired me to try more with puff pastry as well as to make pizza.  I think this could be great topped with different kinds of vegetables.

Ham and Cheese Calzone

I am not a big meat-eater (as you can probably tell if you are reading this) but now that I am selling Pampered Chef (ask me about that!) I have obviously been making some Pampered Chef recipes. This is the one I did for my Grand Opening show. It is from the Season's Best Fall/Winter 2009 cookbook (which you can purchase through me for $1!).

It is a super easy recipe, so there is not much to say. I think the thin crust Pillsbury pizza dough is better to use for the large bar pan. At home, I used provolone and mozzarella instead of swiss because Ken hates swiss. Don't be silly and forget the second half of the cheese INSIDE the calzone. And other than that, it is pretty straightforward.

I want to try some variations on this, including some kind of vegetarian version. A broccoli calzone would be interesting but I would also like to find a way to reduce the excessive amounts of cheese that are present here. This is not a recipe that lends itself well to health-itizing it, so we'll have to see what inspires me, but it's always nice to have suggestions for guests at parties. My cheese swap was one of my suggestions last time. Otherwise, I'm not sure I'll really be making this much at home as it just isn't really something I loved.

Peach Caprese Salad

I am working from home today so I decided to make myself something interesting for lunch. Based on the success of yesterday's lunch, I wanted to make a more classic caprese salad. But I also wanted to put a twist on it. I decided to add peaches so I could get that different kind of fruit taste that I liked so much yesterday.

Here is my "recipe":
1 1/2 tomatoes, sliced
a few rings of red onion
6-8 basil leaves
a few slices of fresh mozzarella
1 peach, sliced

Directions: Layer on a plate in order of ingredients. Top with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

This salad was pretty delicious. The peach was a nice touch. I would recommend saving the peach for absolute last - drizzle the olive oil and season with salt and pepper, THEN add the peaches on top. It is just a little weird to have your peaches covered with oil and salt and pepper. I will probably be having this again this week if my basil will survive long enough!