Thursday, July 17, 2014

Baked Asparagus, Leek and Goat Cheese Bites

I made this recipe tonight for dinner and though it was good it needs some work. I found it on the Williams and Sonoma website.

Choose a soft, crumbly, fresh goat cheese with a hint of citrus to highlight the onion-like leeks and earthy asparagus in this dish. The freshest whole-milk ricotta available will provide these eggy mouthfuls with the creamiest, lightest texture.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 tsp. unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
  • 6 asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed
  • 1 leek, halved lengthwise and rinsed well, white and light green portions finely chopped
  • 2 oz. fresh goat cheese
  • 1/2 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
  • 1 egg

Directions:

Preheat an oven to 300°F. Generously coat the cups of a 12-cup miniature muffin pan with butter.

Thinly slice the asparagus spears crosswise, keeping the tips whole. Set the asparagus tips aside.

In a sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt 2 tsp. of the butter. Add the sliced asparagus and the leek and cook gently, stirring often, until just softened slightly, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and let cool.

Crumble the goat cheese into another bowl. Add the ricotta cheese and egg and mash together with a fork until well combined, then mix in the cooled vegetables. Divide the filling evenly among the prepared muffin cups. Bake the “bites” until puffed and lightly golden on top, 20 to 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut each asparagus tip in half lengthwise. In a small nonstick fry pan over low heat, melt the remaining 1/2 tsp. butter. Add the asparagus tips and sauté until just tender, about 1 minute. Transfer to a small bowl.

When the bites are done, transfer the pan to a wire rack. Run a table knife around the inside of each cup to loosen the edges and let cool slightly. Invert a large plate or tray over the muffin pan, invert the pan and plate together and lift off the pan.

Arrange the bites on a platter or individual plates and top each with an asparagus-tip half. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes 12 bites; serves 6 to 12.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Appetizers, by Amy Sherman (Oxmoor House, 2008).

It needs more spice so I plan to add some hotshot pepper and garlic and instead of using a muffin tin, use little baking dishes and simply divide it into two servings and then adjust the cooking time. I might also add in some basil or thyme as it needs a little more flavor.  We shall see. I am thinking I will try it again this weekend with my modifications.

They were not bad, just bland.

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Today I Almost Shot the Locate Man

I came home from a nice relaxing massage and was  in the kitchen getting myself a snack before going on an errand to find a background fabric to match an odd color background of my main fabric. While looking out the back window over the sink I noticed something or someone moving  around in the backyard behind the shed and in the area of the tall pine tree.
It made me very nervous. I checked that the alarm was set to STAY and grabbed my 9 mm, and made sure it was loaded.

I walked out on the deck and yelled, "Who are you and what the hell are you doing in my back yard?" By this time the guy was up along the side of the addition and between it and the deck. That made me even more nervous.

His back was to me and when he heard me he quickly turned around. He took a couple of steps back when he saw my gun, and said "Please don't shoot me, ma'm. I am here doing a locate for GCI, so they can dig up your yard to put in new cables." I actually think it was for ACS, since that is our internet service that we have been having troubles with.

I apologized to him and explained that he had scared me.

He told me that a neighbor woman of his had someone break into her house and she shot at them with her gun and missed. He recommended she get a different gun, a 9 mm like mine.  He also told me there were no hard feelings. Women need to protect themselves. He was glad I did not shoot first and ask questions after.

Monday, July 14, 2014

Vegetarian Lasagna

Tom and I love this dish.  I have been playing with several different recipes and think I finally hit on the one that works best for us. It makes about four to six servings, so we have dinner and lunch out of it.

Ingredients:

1 small to medium spaghetti squash = roughly 3 cups of shredded spaghetti squash.

1 - 2 small to medium or medium to large zucchini = roughly 3 cups of shredded zucchini.

15 ounces of ricotta cheese. I buy organic.

2 cups of shredded mozzarella. I like to shred my own and buy organic.
You can also save some to sprinkle on top after cooking or during the last few minutes of cooking.

1 tsp to 1 TBsp of hotshot  or black pepper (We like it spicy, so I add more.)

You will need a baking dish that is 9 X 5 and about 2-3" deep.

Before putting this dish together you need to have prepared the following in advance:

Clean and bake one small to medium spaghetti squash.  After letting it cool, scrape out the insides and set aside to use in the lasagna.  To bake I cut mine in half, scrape out the seeds and then set cut side down on a wire rack over a cookie sheet with water in it.  After baking at 350° for roughly 30-45 minutes, until you can pierce the outside with a fork, I let it cool, cut side down, until I can easily pick it up and scrape the inside out. I then let it drain for a bit so that it is not too watery. It really works great if we have spaghetti the night before and I cook a large spaghetti squash and use the left over for lasagna. You need roughly 3 cups of shredded spaghetti squash.

I shred one to two small to medium or medium to large zucchini, and let it drain in a strainer for awhile.  I also pat it with paper towels to remove some of  moisture. (I am thinking I may bake it for a few minutes next time to see if I can get more water to drain before putting it in the lasagna. You need roughly 3 cups of shredded zucchini.

I also make my own sauce, another reason I like to have spaghetti the night before.  I will share my recipe in another  post, but you need roughly 2-3 cups of sauce.

Preheat the oven to 350°.

Directions:

Smear some sauce in the bottom of the dish, just enough to coat it lightly.

Sprinkle one third of the shredded zucchini in a layer in the bottom of the dish.

(Here you have a choice. I prefer to layer the spaghetti squash and then the ricotta, but you could do it in reverse.)

Sprinkle one third of the shredded spaghetti squash in a layer over the zucchini.

Using one third of the ricotta cheese dab it over the squash and then smear it around lightly so that it is pretty evenly layered.

Sprinkle some of the hot shot or black pepper on the ricotta cheese.

Sprinkle with one third of mozzarella cheese.

Layer one third of the sauce over this

Repeat twice.

Bake 45 minutes, sprinkling the saved mozzarella over the top during the last five minutes of cooking or after removing it from the oven. Let sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

Because there are no noodles to absorb the excess liquid due to using squash, it is helpful to have bulb syringe to remove some of the excess juice before cutting and serving, if you do not have one you can use a spoon to remove some and then once cut and served, tip the plates slightly to let the excess liquid run off before serving.

The extras keep well over night in the refrigerator and make a great lunch when reheated the next day. We never have any left over for freezing so I am not sure how it does at freezing, but please let me know how it works out if you try freezing it and reheating.

Sorry there are no pictures but I forgot to take any when I made this a couple nights ago. I will try to remember to update with a picture next time I make it.

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