Pesto alla Anna

Inspiration:
A Lidia Bastianich recipe, adapted and printed in GQ


Ingredients:

• handful of almonds, lightly toasted
• bunch of fresh basil
• 1 large clove garlic
• pinch of crushed red-pepper flakes
• extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• salt and black pepper
• 1 pound spaghetti
• Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (for the non-vegans)

Instructions:

1. Boil water for the pasta, and cook when ready.
2. Place the almonds, a handful of the basil, the garlic, and red-pepper flakes in a food processor. Process while drizzling in about a half cup of olive oil, until pureed but still chunky.
   
3. Add the cherry tomatoes. Process until incorporated. The sauce should look like bolognese--thick and hearty, a yellowish orange. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. Just before pasta is done, scoop out about a cup of cooking water. Drain pasta.
5. Place sauce in a large serving bowl. Add some of the water (start with just a little) and stir until the sauce is smooth.
6. Add pasta to the bowl and toss until coated. Let cool a bit, then toss with lots of Parmigiano-Reggiano (if desired).
7. Taste. Season. Serve. Devour.

Recipe Notes: A bright, bracing alternative to traditional pesto genovese. And as easy a recipe as you'll find, provided you own a food processor.

My Notes: Super easy and flavorful. A nice bright bunch of flavors as spring arrives but the winter produce still fills the grocery store.

Liz's Rating: 8.5/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10

Bourbon Beef Noodle Bowl

Inspiration:
Cuisine at Home


Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 2 T minced garlic
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1/2 t black pepper
• 1/2 boneless beef sirloin steak, sliced into thin bite-sized strips
• 2 T olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 cups sliced onion
• 14 oz low-sodium beef broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup cubed sweet potato (about 4 oz.)
• 1 cup dry egg noodles
• 2 cups loosely packed spinach
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions

Instructions:

1. Combine bourbon, maple syrup, garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add beef, mixing to coat. Cover and marinate beef 15 minutes or up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. Drain beef through a sieve over a bowl, reserving marinade.
2. Heat 1 T oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until browned, about 3 minutes, remove from pan; set aside.
3. Add remaining 1 T oil and sauté onion for 5 minutes. Stir in reserved marinade, broth, and water. Add sweet potato and bring to a boil. Add noodles; cook until sweet potatoes are tender and noodles are done, about 8 minutes.
   
4. Stir in beef and spinach. Cook until spinach is wilted. Garnish each serving with scallions.

Nutritional Information for 1/2 recipe: 622 calories; 23 g total fat (5 g saturated); 77 mg cholesterol; 7 g carb; 1070 mg sodium; 6 g fiber; 29 g protein.


Recipe Notes: Bourbon Beef Noodle Bowl is hard to categorize. It's not Asian, it's not European, and it's not traditional American. It slips into its own box: plain good eatin'. This soup provides a whole meal in one bowl...The beef soup is curiously addictive, with flavors that intrigue your taste buds with every bite. With the first spoonful, the flavors of maple syrup and sweet potatoes seem to predominate, but their sweetness is quickly offset by the savory beef, garlic, and spinach.


My Notes: This recipe FAILED. We couldn't even finish it. The bourbon flavor was so strong, it was incredible (incredibly bad). Cuisine at Home needs a better test kitchen.

I am still posting it for a few reasons:

1. One thing I don't like about blogging is that it may seem as if I never have a problem with recipes (yeah right). Recipes fail. It happens to everyone, and that is ok.
   
2. I think this recipe would be good with just a few modifications: (1) marinate the beef for only 15 minutes (2) discard the marinade instead of adding it with the broth (3) double the amount of beef broth (since the marinade isn't added).
   

I liked all of the flavors together.. it's unfortunate that the bourbon overpowered all of the other ingredients.

Goat Cheese and Roasted Corn Quesadillas

Inspiration:
Cooking Light

I love quesadillas. I make them a lot, especially when I don't feel like cooking or have leftover ingredients sitting in my fridge.

I found this recipe and had all of the ingredients on hand. It was a nice, quick lunch that I could enjoy while my non-goat-cheese-loving husband was working on a weekend afternoon.

I substituted canola oil for the cooking spray and used frozen corn kernels since we don't have fresh available this time of year. I would not suggest using flour tortillas (too gummy); corn tortillas are best for any non-burrito recipe!


Liz's Rating: 9/10

TWD: Lemon French Yogurt Cake

Inspiration:
Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction chose this week's recipe and will be posting it on her blog.

I skipped the optional marmalade glaze because I didn't want it to be too sticky. It was a simple, delicious bread, sort of like a lemon pound cake. It would be a nice thing to take to a friend's home or to serve to overnight guests.

This was easy to make. I used a dark metal pan, and my loaf didn't seem to rise as much as others. It was also done earlier than the recipe described.

I am a little late posting this because... I am lazy. I baked this on Sunday but didn't get the photo uploaded in time. Whoops!


Tim's Rating: 8.5/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10


Next week on TWD: Blueberry Crumb Cake (!)

Siberian Spicy Garlic Cheese (Pikantny Syr)

Inspiration:
The Amazing Race's second Russian pit stop
and
this recipe from grouprecipes.com


Ingredients:

1/2 pound (8 ounces) medium-sharp white cheddar cheese, finely shredded
1/2 pound (8 ounces) Emmentaler cheese, (Gruyere)finely shredded
1/4 cup pure sour cream (containing no additives)
1/4 cup full-fat mayonnaise
8 to 10 large garlic cloves, put through a garlic press
1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper or hot paprika (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Instructions:

Toss the shredded cheeses by hand in a large bowl.
Mix together the sour cream, mayonnaise, pressed garlic, hot pepper (optional), and salt in a small bowl, then add to the cheese, stirring to mix well.
Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (and preferably overnight) to let the flavors meld.
Let the cheese mixture come to room temperature before serving. Use as a stuffing for small firm ripe tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, as a topping for baked potatoes, or as a spread for dark bread.

Recipe Notes:
Called pikantny syr (spicy cheese) in Russian, this is a popular appetizer in Siberia and the Russian Far East. In restaurants it is usually served as a stuffing for ripe red tomatoes, or as a spread for chewy-textured Russian bread. The combination of cheeses used in this recipe approximates the taste of the cheese used in Asian Russia. Plenty of garlic provides the kick; you can also add some cayenne pepper to make the cheese even hotter. Russians make this dish by putting all the ingredients through a meat grinder--but you can shred the cheese by hand or even use a food processor.


My Notes: I only used 4 cloves of garlic, and it is still very garlicky! I liked this spread on toast points. (We were out of crackers.) It would also be delicious melted on top of chicken breast... which I may try with the leftovers!

Tim's Rating: 8/10 ("Too garlicky for me.")
Liz's Rating: 8/10

Spiced Lentil Tacos

Inspiration:
SELF Magazine


Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 package (2.25 oz) taco seasoning
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup fat-free sour cream
• 1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, finely chopped (use half for less heat)
• 2 teaspoons adobo sauce
• 8 taco shells
• 1 1/4 cups shredded lettuce
• 1 cup chopped tomato
• 1/2 cup shredded reduced-fat (2 percent) cheddar

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook onion, garlic and salt until onion begins to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add lentils and taco seasoning. Cook until spices are fragrant and lentils are dry, about 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Mix sour cream, chile and adobo sauce in a bowl. Uncover lentils and cook until mixture thickens, 6 to 8 minutes. Mash with a rubber spatula. Spoon 1/4 cup lentil mixture into each taco shell. Top with 2 heaping tsp sour cream mixture, lettuce, tomato and cheese.

Note: I only use full-fat dairy, so I substituted in regular sour cream and cheese. I left the recipe as-is to reflect the nutritional info below.

Nutritional Info:
249 calories per 2 tacos, 7.1 g fat (1.9 g saturated), 37.1 g carbs, 9.7 g fiber, 11.5 g protein


Liz's Rating: 8.5/10
Tim's Rating: 9/10 ("Not as good as beef tacos, still good.")

Ham and Egg Fried Rice

Inspiration:
Cooking Light


Ingredients:

• 4 cups cold cooked long-grain rice
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 cup thinly horizontally sliced green beans
• 3/4 cup diced ham (about 4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• 2 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup (1-inch) slices green onions

Instructions:

1. Break up rice with hands to remove large clumps, if necessary.

2. Heat a 14-inch wok over high heat. Add canola oil to wok, swirling to coat. Add 1 1/2 cups onion and garlic to wok; stir-fry 1 minute or until onion begins to brown. Add beans and ham; stir-fry 2 minutes or until ham begins to brown.

3. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add cold rice to wok; stir-fry 2 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, sesame oil, and black pepper. Push rice mixture up sides of wok. Pour eggs in open space in center of wok; cook 30 seconds or until set, stirring to scramble. Gently stir scrambled eggs into rice mixture. Sprinkle with green onions.

Notes: I made this for us to take to work; it made four portions.

Vegetarian option: Replace ham with broccoli and/or mushrooms

Nutritional Information

Calories: 397 (29% from fat)

Fat: 12.8g (sat 2.3g,mono 5.4g,poly 3.2g)

Protein: 14.5g

Carbohydrate: 54.5g

Fiber: 2.8g

Cholesterol: 121mg

Iron: 3.3mg

Sodium: 868mg

Calcium: 57mg

Tim's Rating: 8/10
Liz's Rating: 8/10