Roasted Red Peppers with Lemon Ricotta

INGREDIENTS

6 bell peppers, red or yellow

2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil

1 ½ cups ricotta

1 lemon

1 tablespoon chopped preserved lemon rind (optional)

 Fine sea salt

 Freshly ground pepper

 Sherry or balsamic vinegar, for serving

 Minced chives or basil, for serving

PREPARATION

Center a rack in the oven, and heat it to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil. Rinse the peppers, pat them dry and place them on the pan. Roast the peppers, turning every 10 minutes, until their skins are black and blistered, 40 minutes, more or less. Transfer the peppers to a heatproof bowl, cover and, when they’re cool enough to handle, peel off the skins. Remove the caps, cut each pepper in quarters or halves and remove and discard the seeds. Lightly brush the peppers with oil; use now, or cover closely and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

Scrape the ricotta into a bowl, and mix with a spatula to smoothen. Grate the lemon zest over the ricotta, squeeze in about 1 tablespoon of the juice and add the preserved lemon rind, if you’re using it. Pour in a few teaspoons of olive oil, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Use now, or cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day.

To serve, spoon or spread the lemon ricotta on a platter or individual plates, and drizzle with olive oil. Top with peppers, and brush or drizzle with olive oil and either sherry or balsamic vinegar. Finish with a sprinkling of chives or basil.

Curried Roaster Butternut Squash and Pear Soup

This one comes from the Salt Lake Tribune in November of 2001.  Must be good because I've been making it for 16 years!

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, about 1 1/2 lbs., peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
   (I don't do it this way as it is very difficult to peel a hard butternut squash. Instead, I half and then    
   quarter the halfs with skin on and then peel after they are roasted.)
4 ripe but firm Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
   (my method is half and core the pears, peel or not peel after roasting)
2 TBSP olive oil
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup finely chopped shallots
1 TBSP dark brown sugar firmly packed
1  2 1/2 inch cinnamon stick
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground coriander
6 cups chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400°.  On a large baking sheet with sides, toss squash and pears with 1 TBSP olive oil and granulated sugar. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with water.

Roast squash and pears for 30-40 minutes or until both are tender.  (Add a little more water if necessary to prevent burning.) Once cooled, puree in a food processor until smooth.

In a large soup pan, heat 1 TBSP olive oil over medium heat.  Add shallots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned, 3-5 minutes.  Add brown sugar, cinnamon stick, curry powder, cardamom and coriander.  Stir for 2 minutes.  Add pureed squash and pears and chicken broth.  Bring to a simmer, reduce heat to low and simmer, staring occasionally, for 25-30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard cinnamon stick and serve, garnish with mint or cilantro.  Serves 8-10.

Grilled Lemon Thyme Chicken Breasts

Grilled Lemon Thyme Chicken Breasts

Dinner for me on a Sunday night. What would be easy and tasty and on the grill? I had organic chicken breast in the freezer, thyme in the garden and found this recipe on Bon Appetite web site. I did all the prep, went for a bike ride, cleaned up and grilled the chicken. Perfect!  I skipped the last step.

INGREDIENts

• 4 (6-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons chopped thyme leaves
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
• 2 lemons, as needed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
•  Torn basil or mint leaves, as needed

PREPARATION

1. Place chicken breasts between two sheets of parchment or plastic wrap. Using a mallet or rolling pin, pound each to an even thickness of 1/2 inch. Do not make them any thinner or they could dry out.

1. Place chicken in a large bowl and toss with salt, pepper, thyme, garlic and the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Mix in olive oil. Cover and refrigerate 1 to 2 hours. Remove chicken from fridge while you heat the grill.

1. Light the grill, building a hot fire, or heat your gas grill to high. Once grill is fully heated, brush breasts lightly with olive oil and place chicken on the grill. Cook until undersides are browned and chicken is about halfway cooked, 3 to 5 minutes. Flip breasts and grill until cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more.

1. Transfer chicken to a platter. Drizzle with oil and garnish with additional lemon juice, olive oil and basil or mint leaves.

PIZZA! Caramelized Onions, Goat Cheese & Balsamic Vinegar

The first time I made this pizza, I caramelized the onions the day before.  I made the pizza dough and precooked it (3 minutes) it in the morning.  We went skiing for the day and when we came home, with most of the work done, all I had to do was place the toppings on and bake it. Very delicious pizza and hard to beat after a day of skiing. 

Yield: 2  large pizzas

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs part skim mozzarella cheese, shredded (I bought shredded mozzarella)

• 2 prepared whole wheat pizza dough, or store bought

• 3 large red onions, sliced

• 2 tbs olive oil

• 4 oz arugula

• 11 oz goat cheese, crumbled

• 1/4 cup reduced balsamic vinegar
• 
  

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 425F.

Caramelize onions in olive oil (can do ahead a day or two before)

Prepare pizza dough and pre-cook for 3 minutes before adding toppings.

Place 1 lb of shredded cheese over each pizza followed by the caramelized onions and crumbled goat cheese.

Bake the pizzas in the preheated oven for 18-22 minutes. When baked, top the pizzas with arugula and drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Rice Soup

My latest favorite soup and I will probably make it al winter long...

Ingredients

10 cups chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 TBSP olive oil
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 cups cooked rice
2 TBSP lime juice

Directions

Boil chicken breast in water for twenty minutes.  Remove from water, and shred the chicken when cooled.

In a very large soup pot, simmer vegetables and bay leaf in olive oil until they begin to soften, about 10-15 minutes.  Stir in chicken and broth.  (I prefer to use the water the chicken was boiled in as part of the 10 cups of broth.) Simmer for 10 minutes. Add rice and lime juice, cook and stir until rice is hot and grains begin to separate, about 1 minute.

Shrimp Cakes

Shrimp Cakes

Absolutely delicious shrimp cakes! Cooked shrimp, formed into patties with cooked sweet potatoes, garlic, red onion, breadcrumbs, jalapeno, cilantro, and spices, then fried.

•    Yield: Makes six large cakes.

INGREDIENTS

•    1 lb tan-skinned sweet potatoes

•    4 large garlic cloves, unpeeled

•    4 Tbsp (or more) vegetable oil

•    8 oz peeled, cooked shrimp, coarsely chopped

•    2/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

•    2/3 cup finely ground breadcrumbs

•    2 Tbsp finely chopped pickled or fresh jalapeños

•    2 Tbsp finely chopped red onion

•    1 1/2 teaspoons spice mix (recipe included below)

•    Flour for dusting (1/2 to 1 cup)

Spice Mix Ingredients:  notes: I did not make this but substituted with 1/4 - 1/2 tsp. of listed items

•    1/4 cup cumin seeds

•    3 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

•    1 Tbsp coriander seeds

•    2 Tbsp sugar

•    1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

METHOD

Spice Mix Method

Add cumin seeds, peppercorns, and coriander to a heavy medium skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until fragrant and lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Let cool a few minutes. Grind spices in a blender or spice grinder (can use a coffee grinder that has been cleaned by grinding raw rice) until finely ground. Transfer to a small bowl, stir in sugar and salt. Makes about half a cup. You'll only need 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mix for one shrimp cakes recipe, so store the remainder for future use.

Shrimp Cakes Method

1 Pierce sweet potatoes all over with a fork. Bake in microwave for about 15 minutes until done. Rub one tablespoon of oil over unpeeled garlic. Cook in microwave a few minutes, until soft. Let the garlic and sweet potatoes cool enough to handle. Peel the garlic. Cut the sweet potato in half and use a spoon to scoop out the flesh. Combine the cooked sweet potato and garlic in a bowl and mash until smooth.

2 Add the shrimp, cilantro, breadcrumbs, jalapeño, onion, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the Spice Mix. Mix until well blended. Season with salt. Use your hands to form the mixture into six patties, 3-inches in diameter.

3 Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly dust the shrimp cakes in flour. Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the shrimp cakes until nicely browned, adding more oil as needed, about 2 minutes per side.

Place the shrimp cakes on a baking sheet. Bake until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Tastes great served with lemon, tartar sauce, and coleslaw.