Tag-Archive for ◊ light lunch ◊

15 Nov 2010 Poached Pear Salad
Author:  |  Category: Fruits, Guest Recipe, Holidays & Events, Salads  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  | 2 Comments

Poached Pear Salad is ideal for any fancy meal and also be good for a light lunch when paired (peared! now there’s a joke in the making… ) when paired with a bowl of soup or a sandwich. The salad looks elegant, tastes great, is endlessly customizable and is dead easy to throw together at the last minute (as long as the pears have been made and chilled ahead of time).

Poached Pear Salad

For the Poached Pears:

  • 6-8 Bosch Pears, with stems left on, peeled (Bosch pears are the ugly brown skinned pears.  I’d suggest using smaller pears so your guests aren’t too full after the salad to enjoy the main meal)
  • 2 cups Port, Shiraz or Zinfandel (The choice of wine will affect the taste of your pears.  If you can afford it, a good port is great.  I often the poach the pears in Zinfandel)
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 3 slices orange
  • 4 star anise

For the Salad:

  • 1 bag of salad greens (I usually cut up my favorite lettuces, I don’t like the smell or the taste of bagged salad greens)
  • Cheese of choice, about 1 T. per plate (feta, blue, goat)
  • Extra toppings of choice, if desired: chopped nuts, candied nuts, dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds…

For the Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar (OK to sub champagne vinegar)
  • 1 Tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • 1 tablespoon honey
  • 1 tablespoon fresh thyme or 3/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 3 tablespoons reserved poaching liquid
  • salt and pepper to taste
  1. Poach the pears: In a large pan with a lid, combine wine, sugar, water, and star anise.  Turn heat to high and bring mixture just to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.
  2. Add peeled whole pears-with stem intact-to hot liquid turning to coat well.
  3. Stir in orange slices
  4. Cover pan and simmer pears on low for 10 to 15 minutes, turning pears occasionally, until pears are tender, but still hold their shape.
  5. Discard star anise.  Remove pears to a bowl and set aside to cool.
  6. Turn up heat under the wine mixture, heat to boiling, and simmer, uncovered, for about 20 minutes.  Liquid should thicken and reduce to 1 ½ cups. (Pour liquid into measuring cup every once in awhile to measure progress).
  7. When pears are cool, cut in half lengthwise, and carefully remove core.
  8. Pour reduced poaching liquid and the orange slices over halved pears.  Cover and chill overnight and up to two days. (Poached pears actually keep quite well for a week or more)
  9. When ready to serve, drain the pears from the poaching liquid. (Reserve the reduced poaching liquid. You will need 3T for the salad dressing.) Cut pear into a fan and the bottom, and keeping intact at the narrow top end.
  10. Make the Salad Dressing: Combine all the ingredients–except for the olive oil- for the salad dressing. Mix thoroughly. Gradually whisk in the olive oil. Use immediately. If necessary, if the dressing has separated, shake well before using.
  11. Prepare the Salads: Place pear in the middle of a salad plate, and over a pile of salad greens.  Carefully and artfully  spread out the fanned bottom part of the poached pear. (Sometimes I don’t mess with this, I just cube or slice the pears and arrange on top of the salad greens.)
  12. Sprinkle pear and greens with approximately 1T. of the crumbled cheese of your choice and any desired toppings. Don’t overlook pomegranate seeds, I think they make the salad look especially attractive. I don’t like nuts, but my friends seem to love some candied pecans on this salad.
  13. Drizzle salad with the salad dressing.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.

03 Nov 2010 Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing
Author:  |  Category: Holidays & Events, Main Dish, Meatless, Seasonal, Side Dishes, Veggies  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,  | 5 Comments

This is one of those recipes where the end product is greater than the sum of its parts.  It’s really tasty!  Who would have thought a little onion, carrot, celery, apple and some dried cranberries baked in a butternut squash would taste so good?   I did!!! (Have I mislead you before?)  This would be great for a fall dinner, all you’d need on the side would be a bit of  roast chicken (see John’s recipe for roast chicken) or maybe a few medallions of (maple glazed…, mmmm) pork tenderloin. When the kids aren’t home, I don’t make anything on the side.  I just enjoy this for dinner (makes enough for two days in a row), in front of the TV, with full and absolute control of the TV remote, and know I am in heaven!

I made this squash today when a friend came over and a light lunch was in order because we had some Maple-Bacon-Pecan Sundaes to taste test after lunch!  I skipped the part about brushing the squash with butter and drizzling butter over the top, and I didn’t miss it.  Feel free to save yourself a a few calories, if you are so inclined (or if  you have Maple-Bacon-Pecan ice cream sundaes to taste test after lunch).  BTW, since I have now mentioned the Maple-Bacon-Pecan Sundaes twice, now THREE times, let me just say bacon just does not belong on ice cream.  Nope.  Not at all.  I found the recipe for the Maple-Bacon-Pecan Sundaes in the November issue of Bon Appetite. I was expecting an amazing taste sensation. Didn’t happen.  I only want to know “Why?” Why print this recipe?  There is absolutely no reason to put bacon on ice cream.  Don’t get me wrong.  I understand, and enjoy, that sweet-salty thing going on right now.  But bacon on ice cream? No.  Just say no.  You probably feel your arteries clogging just reading this post…, time to whip up some Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing.  Veggies.  Tasty.  Good for you.

I found this recipe at My Kitchen Addiction about a year ago, and have been enjoying it ever since.   I hope you have a good time with it, too!

Acorn Squash with Cranberry Apple Stuffing

1 acorn squash
1 tablespoon oil
½ cup celery, diced
½ cup onion, diced
½ cup carrot, chopped
1 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 cup tart apple, unpeeled, diced (Granny Smith is my choice)
¼ cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ cup dried cranberries
2 cups stale bread cut into cubes (I use sourdough from Le Boulangrie)
1 tablespoon melted butter
Kosher salt

Preheat the oven to 375°F.  Slice the acorn squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out and discard the seeds.  Place the squash cut side down in a glass baking dish.  Add about 1/2 inch of water in the bottom of the dish and microwave on high for 10-15 minutes or until soft. While the squash is in the microwave, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.  Add the celery, onion, and carrot and saute until soft, about 5 min.  Add the cider/juice, apple, and brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg to the veggies, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Turn off heat and stir in the cranberries and bread cubes, toss to combine and to evenly moisten the bread cubes. Remove the squash from the glass dish, pour out the water, wipe any excess moisture from the baking dish and the squash, and then return the squash to the dish, cut side up. Brush squash halves with some of the melted butter and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into each squash half.  Pour any remaining butter over the top. Bake at 375º for 25-30 minutes, or until the filling sets up slightly and is golden on top.  Serve immediately.

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today,  I always appreciate your visits!

26 Oct 2010 Pumpkin Parmesan Pasta
Author:  |  Category: Pasta, Seasonal, Side Dishes, Veggies  | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,  | 12 Comments

A few weeks ago my friend Nancy and I went to a free cooking class at Williams-Sonoma.  We like free. Part of the free class was a sales pitch, which we had to sit through before the the free food was served.  We were shown $300 pans we couldn’t cook without, $500 blenders to blend and boil soup (I am not kidding), and a $12 bottle of Pumpkin-Parmesan Pasta Sauce that would change our lives.  We like free; a $12 bottle of pasta sauce was out of the question…, but that boiling blender was sooooo tempting. I still dream about it. But I digress… After downing the free samples (and not being that impressed), I went home to Google Pumpkin-Parmesan Pasta Sauce Recipes.  Five popped up. I compared them. Combined them.  Made them. I fed the first batch to my grandson. He loved it (and he doesn’t love everything).  My daughters had the leftovers and they said the words that make me swoon, “This is really good, Mom”.  I love those girls. Feeling I was on the right track, I upped the spices a bit, and made another batch for my Dining For Women group. They liked it too! YAY! They asked me to post the recipe. I love those women.  I hope you bought an extra can of Pumpkin Puree. You are going to want to use one to make this recipe at least once this season.  It’s tasty, it’s different, it’s nutritious and it’s just the thing to be eating this time of year and, drum roll please, it’s FREE!

My only caution about this recipe: don’t make it ahead of time.  Make it, and then serve it immediately. Right after combining the sauce with the pasta, it’s all nice and creamy, but it doesn’t take long for the two parts to congeal into a big blob.  Other people didn’t seem to mind, but I did. Perhaps I need to add more liquid to keep it creamy longer?

I wanted to serve the sauce with cheese tortellini or cheese ravioli tonight, but I forgot to buy some, so I had to make do with what I had in the cupboard, Rotelle. I’ve also made this with with Penne and Bowties, too, and both were good. But I really wanted to try it on cheese ravioli 🙁  If you try it on ravioli, let me know how it is, please!

I serve this as a side dish.  Recipe will serve 6-8.  This sauce goes together quickly.  Not as quickly as opening a $12 jar of sauce, but almost!

Pumpkin-Parmesan Pasta Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 chopped shallot (about ¼ cup)
½ cup chopped onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 box pasta (penne, rotelle, bowtie)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp. ground sage
½ tsp. nutmeg (freshly ground is best)
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

Fill a pasta pot with water, bring to boil, add salt.

While the pasta water is coming to a boil, heat the olive oil in a skillet and stir in onions and shallots.  Saute until translucent.  Stir in minced garlic and saute for another minute or so.

By this time, your water should be boiling.  Stir in pasta, and cook according to package directions.

Add pumpkin, broth, cream, vinegar and spices to the onion/shallots/garlic mixture in the skillet.  Simmer on low for 5 minutes or so.

Gradually stir in 1/3 of the cheese to the sauce.  When that cheese has been incorporated, repeat with another 1/3 of the cheese.  Then repeat again with remaining cheese. Stir in chopped fresh sage.

By this time, your pasta should be cooked.  Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Stir the drained pasta into the sauce.  If the sauce seems too thick, add a bit of the reserved pasta water until the sauce reaches desired consistency. Serve immediately. Enjoy!  Happy Fall!

Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.  Raise your hand if you are a pumpkin junkie! (I am, I am!!)

24 Oct 2010 French Onion Soup
Author:  |  Category: Appetizers, Soups  | Tags: , , , , , , , ,  | 5 Comments

As a newlywed, wed to a man who owned a copy of “Mastering the Art of French Cooking“, French Onion Soup was one of the first things I learned how to make well, thank you Julia Child, and one of the first things I got high praise for. I first made this soup in 1981. It seems everyone loves French Onion Soup, and since it’s getting harder and harder to find a good French Onion Soup at a restaurant, there is  always an appreciative fan base.  French Onion Soup isn’t hard to make, it’s just a bit time consuming to finely slice 5 cups of onions and then  caramelize them, but once that is over it’s smooth sailing.

I remember the first time I had the so-called French Onion Soup at Marie Callender’s.  I was so disappointed, it was the worst; sliced onions boiled in beef stock topped with a crouton and too much cheese.  Shame, Marie, shame.

Here’s the first tip for French Onion Soup, the onions need to be caramelized, Julia’s method is the best I’ve found.  Tip number two, the better your beef broth, the better your French Onion Soup.  For years I used canned beef broth, and was happy with it (just go easy on the salt elsewhere in the dish).  The new “Better than Bouillon” bases would probably work, too, but again, watch the salt.  I’ve just now started to make my own beef broth.  It’s not as intuitive as chicken broth.  Basically I buy two packages of meat from the market, approximately one pound of stew beef, and two pounds of beef bones (often beef ribs).  I throw them in a pot, along with with some onions, carrots, and celery, a bit of garlic, a grind of pepper, and a bay leaf, cover with water and simmer for 2-4 hours.  Then I strain, refrigerate overnight, remove the hardened fat, strain again, and then use in the recipe.  It’s a bit of a bother, but I feel good about the broth,  it’s real food, with no additives or preservatives., and it’s no more expensive than buying cans of processed beef broth.

French Onion Soup is a bit of a bother to make, but it’s worth it.  Larger bowls, with two croutons, are satisfying as a meal (as long as there is a nice dessert!  Ohhhh…, some people might want a sandwich or a baked potato or a slice of quiche, too), and it’s very elegant in small bowls, with one crouton, served as a starter.  Most people swoon over French Onion Soup, so it’s usually a safe dish to make for company.

French Onion Soup

5 cups thinly sliced yellow/brown onions (slice into rings, or half rings)
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 quarts hot beef broth (canned, or make your own)
1/2 cup dry white wine
salt and pepper to taste
3 tablespoons of Cognac (approximately)
6 slices of a good quality French baguette
approx. 2 cups grated Swiss cheese

Melt butter, stir in olive oil to blend, then stir in sliced onions.  Cover and saute for 15 minutes.  Uncover, stir in salt and sugar, and cook for an additional 30-40 minutes.

In another pan, heat the beef broth to simmer.

Stir 3 tablespoons flour into the onion mixture over medium heat.  Stir constantly for 3 minutes, then remove from heat.

Immediately stir in one scoop hot beef broth.  When broth has totally been incorporated into the flour, gradually stir in the rest of the broth.  Add wine, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Partially cover pan and simmer (not boil) for 40 minutes.

Toast the baguette slices.

To serve: ladle the soup into ovenproof bowls. Stir in 1/2 tablespoon Cognac.  Top with a toasted crouton and approx 1/3 cup of cheese. Broil until the cheese melts.  Then serve. Makes six servings.

Now you too can make better French Onion Soup than any restaurant. I guarantee it. Thanks for stopping by my kitchen today.

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