Good Goat Burritos

Mmmmm mmmm. A crowd pleaser. Thank you Nadia. She gave this great cookbook years ago when I was first trying to think of dinner without meat for every meal. I have so under utilized this cookbook. I am repenting of my ways. The few recipes that I have tried from Vegetarian Planet have been wonderful.

By the way, if you're like my family (not me and my daughter) then you might call these Good Cow Burritos and use chedder cheese instead of goat cheese. My family ... soooo uncultured. But they did lick their plates clean. =)

Good Goat Burritos
3 cups of chopped scallions
1 Tbs olive oil
5 cloves of garlic
2 cans of tomatoes
3 cups of cooked rice
1 can of Trader Joe's Refried Black Beans
1 can of Black beans
3 Tbs cumin (or more if you're like me)
salt and pepper to taste

Goat Cheese (or the other stuff if you must)
cilantro
tortillas

Saute the scallions for 5-10 minutes until you feel their done. Add the garlic and saute for the last minute or two. Then add the remaining 6 ingredients and cook until warm.

Get the BIG tortillas. They are so much easier to wrap a burrito correctly. Sprinkle the tortilla with water and cook on a skillet until slightly browned. Spread a thin layer of goat cheese on the tortilla. Add the rice/bean mixture and top with cilantro, sour cream or whatever else you like. Sit on your comfy couch and enjoy the Olympics while eating.

On The Menu...

I'm back ... barely.

MONDAY
leftover Salsa Chicken turned into quesadillas

TUESDAY
uh ... It's National Pancake Day and we're getting free pancakes at IHOP. I'll be watching 2 extra kids tomorrow. Wish me luck on braving it with 5 kids on my own.

WEDNESDAY
Good Goat Burritos from Vegetarian Planet

THURSDAY
We'll be getting our teeth cleaned that day far from home. So we'll be eating out.

FRIDAY
Dad's in charge.

SATURDAY
leftover soup in the freezer?

SUNDAY
African Peanut Soup from Nadia

Salsa Chicken

Again, another Trader Joe's sample. I think I just go there when I'm hungry so everything tastes good. This was too easy. And I used the leftovers the next day in quesadillas. Mmm..

1 jar of Trader Joe's Salsa Autentica
Fontina Cheese
Chicken

Easy as that. Brown the chicken in your skillet. When cooked, remove it and then add the jar of salsa. Cut the cheese into small pieces and mix into the salsa. Once the cheese has melted add the chicken to reheat. And voila! C'est tres magnifique!

Oowey Gooey Brownies

Mmmm. Thankfully I was asked to make Brownies for a Church youth activity tonight. The recipe from Cooks Illustrated that I've been wanting to try for awhile had to wait when I didn't realize I had all the chocolates I wanted. So I found this one instead from Simply Recipes. Elise has never done me wrong. This recipe I guess originally came from Epicurious which of course I LOVE. Soooo, I just modified the almond/vanilla ratio and I think I prefer chocolate to the cocoa powder.

These brownies are sooooo oowey gooey. Heaven.

AND by the way, should you want to make enough brownies to fit into a large cookie sheet ... you will need to triple this recipe.

Ingredients

• 10 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or chocolate chips =)
  
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tsp almond extract
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
  
• 2 cold large eggs
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 Preheat oven to 325°F. Line the bottom and the sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with foil or parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides to make it easier to lift the brownies out of the pan when they are done.

2 Combine the butter, cocoa, sugar, and salt in a medium heatproof bowl. Set the bowl in a pot of barely simmering water. Stir the mixture until melted and is smooth. Remove the bowl from heat and set aside briefly until the mixture is only warm, not hot.

3 Stir in the almond and vanilla extract. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring quickly after each one. When the batter looks shiny, thick, and well mixed, add the flour and stir until you cannot see it any longer. Spread the batter evenly in the lined pan.

4 Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out just slightly moist with batter, 20 to 25 minutes. Let the brownies cool completely on a rack.

Sugar Cookies

Thank you Julie N. Every time I make these cookies I feel like I am back with my dear friend at Christmas about 8 years ago. We made waaaay to many cookies and then realized that frosting them was going to take a lot longer than we thought. She had the perfect sugar cookie recipe and I had the perfect frosting recipe. We were a match made in heaven.

SUGAR COOKIES
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup oil
2 eggs
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla
5 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cream of tartar

Cream butter and sugar. Blend oil, eggs, salt and vanilla and then add to butter sugar mix. Combine dry ingredients and add to dough. Chill for 3 hours (DO NOT FREEZE IT ALLISON ... it takes forever to thaw). Roll out and cut into shapes.

Bake at 300 for about 10 minutes

FROSTING
1 cube of butter
maybe half a bag of powdered sugar???
about a 1/2 tsp of almond extract
a little milk to thin it out, but nooooot much

(this is a la Pappadopolis style)

Porcini-Crusted Tenderloin with Chocolate-Port Sauce

Another great find from our cooking class at Sur La Table.

TENDERLOIN
6 beef tenderloin steaks cut into 1 1/4 inch thickness
2 Tbsp dried porcini mushrooms
1/2 Tbs peppercorns
1/2 Tbs butter
1/2 Tbs olive oil
Salt to taste

CHOCOLATE PORT SAUCE
2 cups of port
2 cups beef sauce
1 1/2 oz bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbs butter cut in pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425. Grind porcini mushrooms and peppercorn to a fine powder. Pat the beef tenderloin dry with a paper towel. Season both sides of the beef with salt. Sprinkle each side of the tenderloin with the porcini dust.

Add oil and butter to a large oven-proof skillet and place over high heat. Allow the skillet and oil to get hot but not smoking - about 1 minute.

Place the beef tenderloin into the skillet and allow it to cook for about 3 minutes on one side or until a deep dark caramelized crust is achieved. Flip and place the skillet into the oven for about 4-6 minutes to cook meat to medium rare. Remove from heat and let rest. Use the skillet for the sauce.

SAUCE
Deglaze saute pan with port. Reduce by half. Add beef stock and reduce by half. turn heat to low and add chocolate whisking constantly until chocolate is melted. Whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper.

Beet & Goat Cheese Napoleons with Candied Walnuts

Charlie and I went to a faaaaabulous couples cooking class at Sur La Table. This was our favorite find!

4 trimmed medium red beets
1 Tbs cider vinegar
1tsp lemon zest
2 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
2 Tbs walnut oil
2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil

2 4 oz logs of fresh goat cheese
1-2 Tbs cream
salt and pepper
2 cups mixed baby greens (preferably spicy)
coarse sea salt (such as Maldon)
1 cup candied walnuts (recipe below)

heart shape cookie cutter (if you have time)

Cook beets. Measure all ingredients except oils into a small bowl. While whisking, drizzle in the oils until an emulsion forms.

Once the beets have cooled, remove the skins and slice crosswise into 18 1/4 inch thick rounds. Use the cookie cutter to cut slices into hearts. Gently toss the beet hearts with 2 Tbs of vinaigrette and set aside.

Blend the goat cheese, cream, salt and pepper. Put in a plastic bag and squeeze in between the beet hearts. Oooooor, just crumble goat cheese pieces in between chopped beets.

Toss the greens with the vinaigrette. Place greens next to heart/goat cheese napoleons. Garnish with Candied Walnuts.

CANDIED WALNUTS
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 1/2 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of cayenne
1 large egg white, at room temp
1/2 pound walnut pieces

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a small bowl mix both sugars with the salt, cinnamon, and cayenne. In a large bowl whisk the egg white until frothy. Whisk in 1 Tbs of water until combined. Add the walnuts and stir to coat. Sprinkle on the sugar mix and stir to evenly distribute.

Line a baking pan with a silpat. Spread the nuts in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes and then stir the nuts. Continue baking until the nuts smell toasted and the sugar coating is caramelized (about another 10 minutes).

Let the nuts cool on the pan, separating them as they cool. Transfer to air tight container (if not used immediately.)

Valentine's Pancakes

Thank you Trader Joe's for sampling these last week. I made these Red Velvet Pancakes for Valentine's Day. Oooooh man these were so creamy delicious. Even my husband who thinks pancakes are just okaaaay, fell in love with these. I can't wait to make them again.

RED VELVET PANCAKES
1 Cup flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbs white sugar
2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup creme fraiche (or mascarpone)
3 Tbs unsalted butter elted
1 Tbs red food coloring
1 tsp vanilla

MASCARPONE SPREAD
4 oz Mascarpone, softened
2 oz of creme fraiche
2 Tbs white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon zest

Wisk together the dry ingredients.

In a separate bowl wisk together the egg, buttermilk, and creme fraiche, melted butter, food coloring, and vanilla. Add them together and wisk just until combined. A little lumpy is ok. Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium high heat and cook away!

Carrot Soup

For Valentine's Charlie and I went to a couples cooking class at Sur La Table. It was heavenly. We made a Carrot Soup that was perfect. Although it wasn't in our recipe packet. So I used this one from Cooks Illustrated. Thank you!!!! Soooo good.

Carrot Soup

2	tablespoons unsalted butter , or the same amount of vegetable or olive oil
1	medium onion , 3 medium shallots, or 1 medium leek (white and light green parts only), chopped
2	tablespoons dry sherry or white wine
1 1/2	pounds carrots (about 8 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced thin (about 4 cups)
2	cups low-sodium chicken broth or low-sodium vegetable broth
1	teaspoon table salt
	ground white pepper
	pinch ground nutmeg
1 - 1 1/4	cups whole milk
2	teaspoons minced fresh tarragon , mint, chives, or parsley

1. Heat butter or oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add sherry and carrots; stir constantly and cook until sherry evaporates, about 30 seconds.

2. Add broth, salt, pepper to taste, and nutmeg to saucepan; bring to boil. Reduce heat to simmer; cover and cook until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.

3. Ladle carrot mixture into blender. Add 1 cup milk; blend until very smooth. Return soup to saucepan; cook over low heat until warmed through. If soup is too thick, stir in additional milk to thin consistency. Adjust seasonings. (Soup can be refrigerated for 3 days and reheated just before serving.

4. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with minced herb and serve immediately.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

Okay so I only used the Lemon Cups for my Gourmet Club in NYC. No I don't make them for just my family. Buuuut they sure looked cool didn't they? This is one of my faaaavorite desserts ... I mean ... side dishes.

Risotto in a Lemon Cup

1 shallot minced
1 rib celery, chopped fine
2 T. unsalted butter
1 T olive oil
1 1/3 cups risotto rice, preferably Arborio

1⁄2 cup white wine
Approximately 1 quart chicken stock
1/2 unwaxed lemon, zested and juiced
1 Tbs. Rosemary, chopped up
1 egg yolk
4 tablespoons grated Parmesan, plus more, for garnish
1/3 cup mascarpone
Pepper
Salt, to taste

Put the shallots and celery into a mini food processor and blitz until they are finely chopped or cut up finely by hand. Heat the butter, the oil and the shallot and celery mixture in a wide saucepan, and cook to soften the mixture for about 5 minutes, making sure it doesn't stick. Mix in the rice, stirring to give it a good coating of oil and butter. Add wine until and stir until evaporated. Meanwhile, heat the stock in another saucepan and keep it at the simmering point.

Put a ladleful of the stock into the rice and keep stirring until the stock is absorbed. Then add another ladleful and stir again. Continue doing this until the rice is al dente. You may not need all of the stock, equally, you may need to add hot water from the kettle.

Mix the lemon zest and the rosemary into the risotto, and in a small bowl beat the egg yolk, lemon juice, Parmesan, cream and pepper.

When the risotto is ready - when the rice is no longer chalky, but still has some bite - take it off the heat and add the bowl of eggy, lemony mixture, and salt, to taste. Serve with more Parmesan if you wish.