Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Goat Cheese

Inspired by a new blog I may consider stalking when it's recipe hunting season is Sutterbean. It is where I found this recipe and modified it a bit for my tastes.

Arugula Salad with Strawberries & Goat Cheese

• 1/2 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 bunches arugula, washed, dried, and trimmed
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves (or sugared almonds in my case)
  
• 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles (sooooo worth it)
• thin slice of red onion, chopped
  
• a quarter of a red pepper chopped
  

Put pecans on baking sheet and toast in the oven at 350F for 8-10 minutes.

In a large bowl, toss 1/2 pint strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and quartered, with 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar; let sit 5 to 10 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together another tablespoon balsamic vinegar with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.

To the strawberries, add vinaigrette, 1/2 cup toasted pecan halves, and 2 bunches arugula, trimmed and thoroughly washed and dried. Toss to combine, and serve. Add a bunch of goat cheese crumbles to push it over the top!

Cream of Cauliflower Soup and Red Beet Chips

Okay sometimes a woman's gotta do what a woman's gotta do. I know it's usually Pizza and Movie night on Friday night like tonight, but we've had two birthday parties in two days and one more tomorrow where I'm sure pizza will be served once again. So I broke tradition more than 100% and went with an absolute kid un-favorite.

But knowing their little bellies were plenty filled on cupcakes, tootsie rolls, peanut butter cups and juice boxes, I had no problem serving this soup, knowing they wouldn't eat it. At least they were extra ready for bed after coming down rapidly off of their sugar high. =)

But as for me, I thought this soup was heavenly. It wasn't at all what I was expecting. It is rich and smooth and a very full flavor. My cousin gave this recipe to me over a year ago. (The same cousin who once tried out for America's Next Top Chef.) It was time I gave it a try.

(And just so you know, tonight I just made the soup and not the beet chips or the fancy floret toppers. Come on! I've got three little kids. Never enough time.)

CREAM OF CAULIFLOWER SOUP with RED BEET CHIPS
(adapted from Keller’s “Ad Hoc”)

1 head of cauliflower
2 T butter
3/4 cup chopped yellow onions
1/8 tsp curry powder
kosher salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 + 1/2 cups water

peanut oil for frying beet chips
1 beet
1 tsp white vinegar
extra virgin olive oil
black pepper, freshly ground

Make the soup….
Remove the leaves and core of the cauliflower, separate about 1 cup of good-looking florets, not larger than a quarter, and reserve them. Chop the rest of the cauliflower in chunks of similar size. Melt 1.5 T of butter in a large saucepan, add the chopped onions, curry powder, and cauliflower, sprinkle 1 tsp salt, and cover. Cover the saucepan with its regular lid, cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower starts to get tender.

Add milk, cream, and water to the pan, and simmer for 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the mixture to a blender, and blend until fully smooth. Adjust the seasoning.

Make the red beet chips….
Peel the beet (wear gloves) and make paper-thin slices using a mandoline. Ideally, you want to use only nice, full circles (good luck!). Heat the peanut oil (about 1 inch of oil in a deep pan), and once it is hot but not smoking, add a few beet rounds. Fry them until they stop bubbling hard, it should take a little over 1 minute. Place them on a baking sheet over paper towels, seasoning with a little salt right after frying. If needed, keep them warm in a 200F oven.

Cook the reserved florets….
Bring some salted water to a boil, add the teaspoon of vinegar, and cook the reserved florets until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain them. Right before serving, melt the remaining 1/2 T butter in a small pan and allow it to get dark golden. Watch it carefully, because burned butter is nasty, and tastes bitter. Once the butter is turning a nice golden brown, add the florets and saute them until golden too.

Serve the soup….
If the soup is too thick, thin it with a little water. Ladle it into a bowl, add some cauliflower florets in the center, and a few beet chips on top. Serve more florets and chips alongside.

White Beans and Spicy Swiss Chard

Okay this turned out really good! I was inspired by a dear friend of mine over at Cafe Johnsonia when I read this recipe. However, I didn't have chicken. And I wasn't about to make my own beans when I had 30 minutes to whip together dinner while my kids were taking baths.

So I took what I liked and modified the rest. And what I came up with was pretty tasty if I do say so myself. I had one kid eat his entire portion. The other had a very sore arm and decided falling asleep on my lap was a much better idea than eating dinner. And the last, well he's three, so we don't expect much yet.

Ingredients

6 slices of bacon (and the grease for flavor if you'd like)
1/4 cup of white wine
1/2 onion
3-4 cloves of garlic minced
1 can of cannellini beans
1 can of tomatoes diced
red pepper flakes (a couple shakes)
1 bunch of swiss chard (stems removed)
chicken stock

Cook the bacon and then remove the slices and chop into small pieces. Pour the excess fat into a bowl and and add later at the end if you want more bacon flavor.

Pour the wine into the pot to deglaze the pan. Sautee the onions for 5-10 minutes. Add garlic.

Dump in beans and tomatoes. Throw in the red pepper to kick up the spice. About now is when I start adding a little chicken stock as the juices evaporate. Add the chard about 5 -8 minutes before you are reading to serve the dish.