Linguine with Tuscan Kale

Linguine with Tuscan Kale

 

A few days ago I shared a recipe from Chef Gregory, and this is another one of his.

While we love pasta in our house, I had no idea how this recipe would go over.

That's a lot of kale and a lot of onion. 

I just wasn't sure.

 

But, it was a hit! 

We had some leftovers, but not much.  I'll certainly make this dish again someday.

 

 

You start by cooking chopped onion and garlic in olive oil until transparent. 



 

Then you add in the thinly sliced kale and let it wilt with the onions and garlic for 5 minutes.

 

I was lucky that Mary and Mike had just given us some beautiful greens from their organic garden.  This kale was delicious!!

 



 

 

Then you add in vegetable stock and cook for 20 minutes, letting the stock reduce.

 

Season with salt and pepper, then toss with hot linguine and Parmesan cheese.

 Deliziosa!

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Buon Appetito!

 

 

Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

Sweet Potato and Apple Soup

 

This yummy soup comes from the December 2012 Real Simple magazine.

It was easy and delicious, and really good heated up the next day for lunch.

 

I started by heating olive oil in my soup pot and adding in chopped onion with salt and pepper.

Then I added in peeled and chopped sweet potatoes, an apple, vegetable broth, and nutmeg, letting it boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

 Then I turned off the heat and used my handy immersion blender to mix it all up.

 

And done!

 

The recipe suggests serving with blue cheese, chopped walnuts, crackers, and sliced apples.

 

I think these extras made the soup even better!

I served it with thinly sliced apples, chopped walnuts, and feta crumbles.

 

Warm and delicious!

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Enjoy!

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup

Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup

Mary and I attended a local class last month with Chef Gregory, a popular local chef and former Executive Chef.  His theme was "Fall Favorites".  We watched him prepare a number of dishes then all ate together.  My kind of class!

sneaky iPhone photo

I tucked his recipes away and have been too focused on other things to bother cooking lately, but earlier this week I made a great meal, including my favorite dish from the night - Brussels Sprouts with Maple Syrup.

 

You could easily lighten up this dish by cutting back on the butter and olive oil, but I followed the directions.  The dish turned out great.  Everyone ate two helpings.  Of Brussels sprouts.  Unbelievable.

 

 

Fresh Brussels sprouts are soooo much better than the frozen boiled kind.

 

 

You start by trimming the fresh Brussels sprouts and halving them lengthwise, cooking them in olive oil over medium high heat until they're nice and golden on the bottoms.

 

You then season them with salt & pepper and toss them to cook until tender.

Then you remove them from the pan and add butter and chopped fresh herbs to the pan along with maple syrup, cooking the herbs.

 

Then return the Brussels sprouts and coat well.

 

Transfer to a dish and drizzle with the remaining olive oil and serve hot.

 

A couple of notes:

Really, you don't need that much olive oil and butter.  This could easily be lightened up.

But it was good!

 

I used fresh chives and parsley but used 1/2 Tbsp of dried sage.  Worked just fine.

 

 

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Enjoy!

Tunisia Meets Provence Salad

Tunisia Meets Provence Salad

 

I found this wonderful grain salad recipe in Vegetarian Times and tried it out last week with cooked barley I had in the fridge.  You could use any cooked grain though - brown rice, quinoa, couscous (I know, not a grain, but still...).

I really liked the sweetness that comes from the apple and the saltiness with the olives.

Everyone in the family liked this recipe.

 

I'll certainly make it again.

 

The recipe calls for 12 Kalamata olives.  I'd use the whole jar next time.

And I didn't peel the green apple as the recipe suggests, but you certainly could.

 

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Bon Apetit!

 

Bulgur Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

Bulgur Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette

A dish that I make often because it's so versatile and easy is a Grain Salad. 
I have lots and lots of recipes for these great dishes and they go by many names.

Grain Salads
Rice Bowls
Veggie Grain Mixes

It depends on the cookbook author or chef as to what they're called.
I learned more about these dishes when I took cooking lessons with Sandy this past spring.

I've come to trust my instincts on what would work well together, so I thought I'd share the latest salad I assembled.

These salads have 3 components:

A Grain
Chopped Vegetables and Herbs
A Vinaigrette

The possibilities really are endless!

I wanted to try a white wine vinaigrette that I jotted down when watching Food Network many months ago.  I don't remember who the chef was who prepared this - sorry!.  It's a simple vinaigrette that worked well with the bulgur (a.k.a. bulgar and bulghur) and vegetables that I chose.

You can use any grain in a Grain Salad.  I happened to have bulgur that I cooked up so I planned to use it.  You could also use cooked brown rice, barley, couscous, millet, quinoa...  I've made many varieties.

You can also use any vegetables.  I chopped up cucumber and carrot, and added chopped fresh parsley.

I tossed the bulgur, vegetables and herbs together, then made the vinaigrette in a container with a tight lid. 

 

The White Wine Vinaigrette was very easy - I included olive oil, white wine vinegar, salt & pepper, fresh parsley & basil, Dijon mustard, and garlic. 

 

Tip:  I would use garlic powder in place of chopped garlic next time.  It was a little bitter.

 

Toss and serve.

This is great at room temperature alongside a couple other dishes (I made tilapia and bread this night).  It's also great as leftovers.

 

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Enjoy!