What's for Dinner? Week of June 15

Monday (6/15): Ginger and Honey Baby Back Ribs; Spinach, tomato, olive and feta bread salad
Why I thought these two dishes would be complimentary is beyond me? Both were tasty but not together.

From the cover of Bon Appetit. I doubled the amount of marinate and added more honey to the recipe. I also reduced the sauce after marinating and basted towards the end of BB-Qing. I did not make the dipping sauce, it seemed unnecessary and a little strange? In the future I would reduce the amount of salt. Very, very tasty but a bit salty.

Tuesday: Left-over Vegetable Chow Fun from Huong-Tra; Cherry cobbler

Wednesday: Gingery Pork Belly, rice and stir-fried veggies

Thursday: Something inspired by Emeril's Tangerine-glazed pork belly recipe. Given that tangerines are out of season, I suspect I will substitute oranges (or maybe even grapefruit) which are slightly more in season.
What's the story with all the pork-belly? I defrosted a large pieced of bone-in pork belly from the Mangalitsa cache, the piece was larger and more unyieldy than I suspected. So, I separated it from the bone (this piece will be used for Emeril's recipe tomorrow) and I used the boneless piece tonight.

Friday: "Everything dinner" heavy on produce. Produce, I suspect will be in the house come Friday - Potatoes, kale, left-overs from the pork belly extravaganza, avocados, cherries, peaches, and produce from this week's CSA box.

The What's for Dinner? post inspired by Chaos in the Kitchen. It seems to be a good way to both plan and re-cap the week's eating.

Sausage, Fontina, Bell pepper and Greens Strata

Traditionally thought of as a breakfast casserole, Strata is really appropriate morning, noon or night. It can be adapted to utilize what's available in your vegetable crisper, makes use of left-over (or over purchased) bread and reheats well. Inspired once again by this month's bon appetite.

I made it for dinner Sunday night.



Sausage, Fontina, Bell pepper and Greens Strata
In a large frying pan over medium-high heat saute until brown:
~1 pound of roughly chopped chicken sausage (I used pre-cooked Trader Joe's Chicken, spinach fontina sausage), about 7 minutes.
Remove from pan, place in large bowl and set to the side.

In pan drippings saute until translucent and starting to brown:
1 onion roughly chopped about 5-6 minutes
1-3 (based on personal preference) cloves of smashed garlic

Add:
2 thinly sliced red bell peppers
Saute until limp 5-7 minutes. Remove from pan and place in bowl with sausage.

Lightly coat skillet (the same one) with olive oil, wilt over medium heat:
1-2 pounds of greens roughly chopped
Remove from pan and place in bowl with sausage, onions and peppers. Stir well to combine.

In a medium size bowl combine:
3 eggs
3 egg whites
1/3 cup of grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of oregano
2 cups of low-fat milk
1/3 cup of whipping cream
Stir well to combine.

For the next step you'll need:
~1 pound baguette roughly cubed
1/4 pound shredded Fontina cheese

Spray a large square casserole with
Pam (0r other non-stick spray).
Place one thick layer of bread cubes in bottom of casserole. Pour ~1/2 of egg mixture over bread cubes. Mix to coat bread cubes entirely. There will be excess egg mixture in the bottom of the casserole. Layer 1/2 of your shredded cheese, and 1/2 sausage, onions and bell peppers. Cover with remaining bread cubes. Pour remaining egg mixture over top. Spread remaining cheese on top.

Bake at 350 F for 45 minutes. Allow to set for 5-10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Time: 1.5 - 1.75 hours (1 hour unattended)
Servings: 6 - 8 large squares

Huevos Rancheros

I love to go out for breakfast and when I do it is next to impossible for me to order anything other than Huevos Rancheros. In honor of two of our favorite events at Kent Court, Cinco de Mayo and breakfast for dinner night I prepared my all time favorite breakfast.

It is a hybrid of these two recipes. No picture it was fiddly and gone too quick.

Ranchero sauce

In a medium sauce pan, over medium heat, saute
1 onion roughly chopped in 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
When softened and starting to caramelize, approximately 8 minutes, add
1/2 - 1 chopped jalapeno pepper (with or without the seeds, your preference), allow to soften a few minutes, add
1 tablespoon of cumin, stir to enliven the spices

Add:
1-15 oz can chopped fire roasted tomatoes
1 can of chopped green chilies
Stir to combine, reduce heat to simmer and allow to flavors to meld approximately 1/2 hour.

Lightly grease a large frying pan, heat over medium. Barely heat/fry a corn tortilla, do not allow to brown, flip once or twice. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of cheese (cheddar, jack or queso fresco are all appropriate choices) in the center of the tortilla. Crack an egg in the middle of the tortilla. It may run off the edges, its fine. Cover with a lid and allow egg to set-up. When mostly firm flip as carefully as you can, and finish cooking to your preferred doneness.

Serve smothered with ranchero sauce, side of black bean, more cheese, and/or sour cream.

Joined

We will pick-up our first box on Friday, can't wait

Slow return to normal

Prior to the wedding we had a great last dinner upstairs, it seemed only fitting to return to normal with an exceptional meal. Inspired by a several recipes in last month's Bon Appetite, last night we had:



Shitake mushroom, asparagus, and leek tartlets
Saute in 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil,
2 thinly sliced leeks, white and pale green parts only (rinse very thoroughly to remove any sand and grit)
10 - 12 ounces of shitake mushrooms thinly sliced until wilted and lightly browned

Remove from heat and place in a medium sized bowl with,
1 pound of asparagus, bottoms snapped and diagonally cut into 1-2 inch pieces
1/2 cup of creme fraiche
2 oz of grated gruyere cheese
Zest and juice of lemon
1 tablespoon of thyme
Stir to combine.

Preheat oven to 400 F

Cut 2 sheets (1 package) frozen puff pastry into 8 squares, place on 2 ungreased cookie sheets. Distribute mushroom, asparagus and leek mixture evenly, mounding slightly to leave 1/2 inch border on tartlet.

Bake for 10 - 11 minutes, turn and flip sheet position in oven. Bake an additional 8 - 10 minutes, remove from oven. Run edge of spatula under each tartlet to loosen, allow to sit for 5 - 10 minutes before serving.



Lightly minted, fresh and bright pea soup
Over medium heat, saute in 2 tablespoons of olive oil 6 shallots - roughly chopped

Add 1 1/2 lbs of frozen petite peas, stir to combine with shallots.

Add 4 cups (1 box) of low sodium vegetable stock, stir to combine. Raise heat, and allow to come to a boil. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 8 - 10 minutes. Add:
2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
Juice of 2 lemons

In batches puree peas and broth until silky smooth. Return to stove heat over low. Salt and pepper to taste

Accompanied by
Pan fried Mangalista chops, from our swine supply in the freezer