Rosie's Potato Gratin, despite the cayenne, and Spike, and paprika, and nutmeg, had a sophisticated and understated flavor, and I loved.it. I made myself quit before I polished the whole thing off, in an UN-sophisticated manner. I followed the recipe fairly closely, but.... I used heavy cream mixed with skim milk in place of the can of evaporated skim milk, and I added salt, something Rosie rarely includes in her recipes. Also, since it was just Swen and I for dinner, I used only 2 potatoes and 1/4 of an onion and finished with the zucchini layer. But I did not decrease any of the spice, liquid, or zucchini amounts.
I liked it enough to include the recipe.
Potato Gratin, Rosie O'Daley, p 106.
3 medium baking potatoes, thinly slice (I did not peel)
2 T flour
1 medium onion, thinly sliced and separated into rings
1/8 t cayenne pepper
1 t paprika
1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 T freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I am sure I used at least 4 Tablespoons)
1 small zucchini, trimmed and thinly sliced
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/2 t Spike seasoning
12 ounces evaporated skim milk (I used 3/4 C cream and 1/3 C skim milk)
2 T chopped fresh parsley
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Coat a 10-inch gratin dish (I used rectangular glass dish, not sure my glass pie plates would be big enough.) or glass pie plate with 3 sprays of vegetable oil..(oh, yeah, I forgot. I did rub the dish with the cut side of a clove of garlic, something Terry learned to do when she was in France).
Layer a third of the potatoes over the bottom of the dish, overlapping the slices in a spiral pattern. Over the potatoes, sprinkle 1 T of the flour and arrange the onion rings. Dust with the cayenne pepper and 1/2 t of the paprika. Layer another third of the potatoes, adding the remaining T of flour, the black pepper, and 1 T of the Parmesan cheese. Scatter the zucchini, dusting with the nutmeg and Spike seasoning. Top with a spiral layer of the remaining potatoes. Pour the evaporated milk over the gratin and add the remaining paprika and Parmesan cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes (maybe because I used more liquid, mine took 60 minutes at 400 degrees). Remove the foil, lower the oven to 350 degrees, and bake for about 15 minutes more, until the top is golden brown. Remove the gratin from the oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes.
Garnish with the chopped parsley.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Day 16. Cauliflower Puree with Peas.
I was not excited to try this soup - thus it is one of the last soups for me to try. It was tasty, it was healthy; it had to be brimming with health with the boiled cauliflower, and then pureed in the liquid in which it was cooked. Vegetables that are added to the soup do not cook much, so they must retain a lot of vitamins. I looked up the vitamins: cauliflower is high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C according to Wikipedia.
Cauliflower also contains chemicals that enhances DNA repair and slows the growth of cancer cells. BUT boiling the cauliflower reduces the levels of the DNA-repairing and cancer-fighting compounds, so those were probably boiled out of the soup. Apparently, steaming and stir-frying (and maybe roasting?) has no significant effect on those compounds.
Bonnie Rose and Mary, I think you will appreciate the subtle qualities of this soup. It isn't a soup I would make often, but it was easy to prepare and I would make it again IF I wanted soup and had a head of cauliflower in the fridge that I needed to use up.
Cauliflower also contains chemicals that enhances DNA repair and slows the growth of cancer cells. BUT boiling the cauliflower reduces the levels of the DNA-repairing and cancer-fighting compounds, so those were probably boiled out of the soup. Apparently, steaming and stir-frying (and maybe roasting?) has no significant effect on those compounds.
Bonnie Rose and Mary, I think you will appreciate the subtle qualities of this soup. It isn't a soup I would make often, but it was easy to prepare and I would make it again IF I wanted soup and had a head of cauliflower in the fridge that I needed to use up.
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Day 13. Grilled Vegetable Sandwich.
Loved it. The roasted vegetables were mouth-watering. The mustard-yogurt dressing was so good I kept trying to think of more things to put it on. There is a lot of labor in this recipe, though, make no mistake. I had to go put my feet up after dinner, before I could even think about putting the food away.
I tried making the baguettes that Rosie suggests with this dinner, but they flopped because I did as she suggested, and put a towel over the top of them. I never do that, because previous experience says the towel will stick to the dough. And guess what? The towel stuck to the dough. The loaves lost air and height when I had to peel the towel off the top of them, so mine were very flat baguettes, more akin to elongated pancakes.
Rosie suggests you scoop out the inner dough from the bottom piece of bread, and I second that suggestion - otherwise there is too much bread. I also suggest that you brush olive oil on the bread, before you warm or toast it - otherwise, it is too dry for the sandwiches.
Here 'tis:
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, p.75, Rosie O'Daley.
For the Dressing:
1 C plain nonfat (lowfat) yogurt
3 T Dijon-style mustard
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt, to taste
2 T nonfat cottage cheese (low-fat)
1/8 t Tabasco sauce
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 t freshly squeezed lemon juice
_______________________
1 small eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium yellow squash, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 red onion, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
3 t Italian seasoning
1/8 t cayenne pepper
Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Olive oil)
2 roasted red bell peppers (see at bottom of recipe)
2 pizza dough baguettes/store-bought baguettes
1 large tomato, cored and sliced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
8 fresh basil leaves
8 arugula leaves (I had spinach leaves, worked just fine)
Preheat the broiler.
Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and mix at low speed until smooth. Set aside.
Arrange the eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and onion in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper over all the rounds. Spray the vegetable oil (brush with olive oil) over to coat lightly. Broil the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until brown, turn the rounds over, and brown the other side. Remove the cookie sheet, leaving the broiler on.
Quarter the roasted bell peppers.
Cut each of the baguettes in half lengthwise and scoop out the soft inner dough. Brush with olive oil. Place them on the broiler rack and toast for about 2 minutes per side.
Put a few slices of tomato into the well in the bottom of each baguette. Dust with black pepper and jalapeno pepper. Place 4 basil leaves, 4 arugula leaves, and 4 pieces of roasted pepper on each baguette. Layer on slices of eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and onion. Coat the inside of the remaining half of each baguette with the dressing (and I put more on top of the vegetables) and place it on top of the vegetables. Cut each baguette into 3 sandwiches.
______________________________
Roasting Bell Peppers
Slice peppers in half lengthwise, core, and remove the seeds. Put the sliced peppers on the rack of a preheated broiler, cut side down. Broil for about 5 minutes, until the skin blisters.
Transfer the roasted peppers to a tightly-sealing plastic bag, close it, and leave them for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool, the charred skin can be rubbed easily from the peppers and discarded.
I tried making the baguettes that Rosie suggests with this dinner, but they flopped because I did as she suggested, and put a towel over the top of them. I never do that, because previous experience says the towel will stick to the dough. And guess what? The towel stuck to the dough. The loaves lost air and height when I had to peel the towel off the top of them, so mine were very flat baguettes, more akin to elongated pancakes.
Rosie suggests you scoop out the inner dough from the bottom piece of bread, and I second that suggestion - otherwise there is too much bread. I also suggest that you brush olive oil on the bread, before you warm or toast it - otherwise, it is too dry for the sandwiches.
Here 'tis:
Grilled Vegetable Sandwich, p.75, Rosie O'Daley.
For the Dressing:
1 C plain nonfat (lowfat) yogurt
3 T Dijon-style mustard
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Salt, to taste
2 T nonfat cottage cheese (low-fat)
1/8 t Tabasco sauce
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
1 t freshly squeezed lemon juice
_______________________
1 small eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium yellow squash, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 red onion, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch rounds
3 t Italian seasoning
1/8 t cayenne pepper
Light vegetable oil cooking spray (Olive oil)
2 roasted red bell peppers (see at bottom of recipe)
2 pizza dough baguettes/store-bought baguettes
1 large tomato, cored and sliced
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
8 fresh basil leaves
8 arugula leaves (I had spinach leaves, worked just fine)
Preheat the broiler.
Put all the dressing ingredients in a blender and mix at low speed until smooth. Set aside.
Arrange the eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and onion in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle the Italian seasoning and cayenne pepper over all the rounds. Spray the vegetable oil (brush with olive oil) over to coat lightly. Broil the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until brown, turn the rounds over, and brown the other side. Remove the cookie sheet, leaving the broiler on.
Quarter the roasted bell peppers.
Cut each of the baguettes in half lengthwise and scoop out the soft inner dough. Brush with olive oil. Place them on the broiler rack and toast for about 2 minutes per side.
Put a few slices of tomato into the well in the bottom of each baguette. Dust with black pepper and jalapeno pepper. Place 4 basil leaves, 4 arugula leaves, and 4 pieces of roasted pepper on each baguette. Layer on slices of eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and onion. Coat the inside of the remaining half of each baguette with the dressing (and I put more on top of the vegetables) and place it on top of the vegetables. Cut each baguette into 3 sandwiches.
______________________________
Roasting Bell Peppers
Slice peppers in half lengthwise, core, and remove the seeds. Put the sliced peppers on the rack of a preheated broiler, cut side down. Broil for about 5 minutes, until the skin blisters.
Transfer the roasted peppers to a tightly-sealing plastic bag, close it, and leave them for 10 to 15 minutes. When cool, the charred skin can be rubbed easily from the peppers and discarded.
Day 15. Un-fried crabcakes.
I liked these. They were light, delicate-tasting, and had the advantage of not being fried.
Idaho Falls does not have a big corner on the fresh fish food market. I was a little intimidated about buying crab, and Rosie doesn't give much direction other than to say "fresh" crab. There were bags of imitation crab, which I pondered because I liked the price. There were Styrofoam trays of frozen cooked crab legs in the Winco meat department; I don't think frozen is the same as 'fresh' but it is certainly as fresh as you are going to find around here. But if I am going to crack crab legs and pick out crab meat, I am just going to eat the crab meat as I labor, not make crab cakes out of it. So I lowered my standards and bought a 6-oz. pouch of "pasteurized crab meat". This wasn't the 1-pound of crab meat called for in the recipe, but Swen and I didn't need a full recipe of 8 crab cakes. And we had Spinach Salad with Orange Dressing and Pine-Nuts and leftover Asparagus Salad to round out our meal.
Un-Fried Crabcakes, p.45, Rosie O'Daley
1 pound fresh crabmeat (lump blue crab)
Light vegetable oil cooking spray
1 t freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T snipped fresh chives
1 large whole egg or 2 large egg whites, beaten
1 T Old Bay seasoning
1 t Italian seasoning
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
1 t baking powder
2 T chopped fresh parsely
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 C unflavored dried bread crumbs
Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Rinse the crab meat under cold running water and drain (I did not rinse, since meat in the packet was already cooked and said 'ready to serve'), making sure to remove and filament or shell.
Spray the vegetable oil over the baking sheet 3 times to coat.
In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, except 1/2 C of the bread crumbs, and stir in the crab meat. Using 1/4 C of crab cake mix, form the mixture into 8 cakes. Roll each in the reserved bread crumbs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Coat the crab cakes lightly with the cooking spray (I did 3 sprays of oil).
Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake the crabcakes for about 5 minutes per side, until brown. (Mine took more on order of 10 minutes per side to brown).
Idaho Falls does not have a big corner on the fresh fish food market. I was a little intimidated about buying crab, and Rosie doesn't give much direction other than to say "fresh" crab. There were bags of imitation crab, which I pondered because I liked the price. There were Styrofoam trays of frozen cooked crab legs in the Winco meat department; I don't think frozen is the same as 'fresh' but it is certainly as fresh as you are going to find around here. But if I am going to crack crab legs and pick out crab meat, I am just going to eat the crab meat as I labor, not make crab cakes out of it. So I lowered my standards and bought a 6-oz. pouch of "pasteurized crab meat". This wasn't the 1-pound of crab meat called for in the recipe, but Swen and I didn't need a full recipe of 8 crab cakes. And we had Spinach Salad with Orange Dressing and Pine-Nuts and leftover Asparagus Salad to round out our meal.
Un-Fried Crabcakes, p.45, Rosie O'Daley
1 pound fresh crabmeat (lump blue crab)
Light vegetable oil cooking spray
1 t freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T snipped fresh chives
1 large whole egg or 2 large egg whites, beaten
1 T Old Bay seasoning
1 t Italian seasoning
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
1 t baking powder
2 T chopped fresh parsely
1 t Worcestershire sauce
1 C unflavored dried bread crumbs
Preheat over to 400 degrees.
Rinse the crab meat under cold running water and drain (I did not rinse, since meat in the packet was already cooked and said 'ready to serve'), making sure to remove and filament or shell.
Spray the vegetable oil over the baking sheet 3 times to coat.
In a large bowl, combine all remaining ingredients, except 1/2 C of the bread crumbs, and stir in the crab meat. Using 1/4 C of crab cake mix, form the mixture into 8 cakes. Roll each in the reserved bread crumbs and place on the prepared baking sheet. Coat the crab cakes lightly with the cooking spray (I did 3 sprays of oil).
Place the baking sheet on the bottom shelf of the oven and bake the crabcakes for about 5 minutes per side, until brown. (Mine took more on order of 10 minutes per side to brown).
Day 14. Pesto Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce.
Yes, when I was eating these leftovers for lunch the following day, I did lick the plate. mmmm. The tomatoes develop a lot of flavor in the cooking - from the pesto and garlic I suppose - but they were bursting with flavor.
This was the recipe, though, that made Swen think about having a melt-down, a-la-Julie-and-Julia. When he saw the mountains of dishes, following so closely on the heels of the mountain of dishes from the previous Rosie dish, the Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches, he considered dropping to the floor. But some of that was just hunger talking, and I heard no more meltdown talk after we finished this meal.
If you wear out easily, I recommend making the Pesto earlier.
Pesto Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce, p52, Rosie O'Daley.
Light vegetable-oil cooking spray (I used olive oil: whenever the recipe says 'spray' just 'pour')
1 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C grated carrot
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried thyme
1/2 C red wine
4 1/2 C peeled, seeded, and chopped (thank you, Cuisenart)plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds total)
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
8 ounces dried linguine
7 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 C chopped mushrooms
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T Rosie's pesto (you are starting to see where all the dishes came from)
1 t freshly grated Parmesan (reality is more like 1 C of fresh Parmesan)
__________________________________
Rosie's Pesto:
1/2 C fresh basil leaves
2-5 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 C pine nuts
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor. Turn the machine on and drizzle in the lemon juice. Continue to puree until a smooth past is formed.
_____________________________________
Continuing on with the Pasta Dish......
Preheat a heavy saute pan for about 1 minute over medium heat. Spray (aka 'pour' olive oil) it 3 times with the vegetable oil. Toss in the onion, green pepper, and carrot and saute for 2 minutes. Add the oregano, thyme, and wine. Cook for about 5 minutes, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Stir in the tomatoes, the jalapeno pepper, and the bouillon cube. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the linguine. Cook the pasta 8 to 12 minutes, to desired tenderness.
To the simmering vegetable mixture, add the garlic, mushrooms, vinegar, tomato paste, and salt and black pepper. Raise the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the Rosie's Pesto.
When the linguine is done, drain and transfer it to a warm serving bowl. Add the sauce and toss. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
This was the recipe, though, that made Swen think about having a melt-down, a-la-Julie-and-Julia. When he saw the mountains of dishes, following so closely on the heels of the mountain of dishes from the previous Rosie dish, the Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches, he considered dropping to the floor. But some of that was just hunger talking, and I heard no more meltdown talk after we finished this meal.
If you wear out easily, I recommend making the Pesto earlier.
Pesto Linguine in Fresh Tomato Sauce, p52, Rosie O'Daley.
Light vegetable-oil cooking spray (I used olive oil: whenever the recipe says 'spray' just 'pour')
1 C chopped onion
1/4 C chopped green bell pepper
1/4 C grated carrot
1 T dried oregano
1 T dried thyme
1/2 C red wine
4 1/2 C peeled, seeded, and chopped (thank you, Cuisenart)plum tomatoes (about 2 pounds total)
2 T chopped jalapeno pepper
1 chicken bouillon cube
8 ounces dried linguine
7 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 C chopped mushrooms
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T tomato paste
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 T Rosie's pesto (you are starting to see where all the dishes came from)
1 t freshly grated Parmesan (reality is more like 1 C of fresh Parmesan)
__________________________________
Rosie's Pesto:
1/2 C fresh basil leaves
2-5 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 C pine nuts
1/4 C freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
Put the basil, garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan cheese in a blender or food processor. Turn the machine on and drizzle in the lemon juice. Continue to puree until a smooth past is formed.
_____________________________________
Continuing on with the Pasta Dish......
Preheat a heavy saute pan for about 1 minute over medium heat. Spray (aka 'pour' olive oil) it 3 times with the vegetable oil. Toss in the onion, green pepper, and carrot and saute for 2 minutes. Add the oregano, thyme, and wine. Cook for about 5 minutes, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Stir in the tomatoes, the jalapeno pepper, and the bouillon cube. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
In the meantime, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the linguine. Cook the pasta 8 to 12 minutes, to desired tenderness.
To the simmering vegetable mixture, add the garlic, mushrooms, vinegar, tomato paste, and salt and black pepper. Raise the heat to medium, cover, and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the Rosie's Pesto.
When the linguine is done, drain and transfer it to a warm serving bowl. Add the sauce and toss. Garnish with the Parmesan cheese.
Monday, April 1, 2013
Day 12, A Bit of Everything.
My diary entries when I was about 9 years old are a source of amusement to Swen, Bonnie, and Madeline. I would earnestly write for a couple of days, then there would be long expanses of time without entries. Apparently these empty pages bothered me, maybe because I wasn't being true to my Diary. So I would go back to the empty pages and write "Not much happened today" on each day's page.
But now I am SOoo much more mature. So I will try to write everything I have cooked from Rosie's Cookbook since Day 11. And encapsulate it all on Day 12. But first, the Asparagus Salad recipe, because it was so good and Bonnie and Mary asked for it.
_______________________________________________________________________
Asparagus Salad recipe, p28 from Rosie O'Daley:
28 asparagus spears (2 bundles), trimmed
1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt (use low or regular yogurt)
1 T crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T snipped fresh chives
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 C chopped fennel leaves (the feathery ends) (imagine, they don't sell feathery fennel at Winco. I used some fennel seeds in the sauce)
Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a steamer. Fit the basket into the steamer. Steam the asparagus over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, until bright green and tender. Remove the steamer from the heat and let the asparagus cool.
Combine the yogurt and blue cheese in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly, just until the blue cheese has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice, chives, and garlic.
Arrange the asparagus in the center of a serving plate and ring with the tomato wedges. Drizzle the yogurt dressing over the asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with the fennel leaves.
__________________________________________________________________________
Curried Mushroom Soup, p18. The picture in the cookbook looks so tempting, a yellow, lush, thick-looking soup with bits of mushrooms floating on top. My attempt was a green soup, probably green from the leeks. And composed of mushrooms - LOTS of mushrooms, with some thin broth filling in the void spaces of ALL THOSE MUSHROOMS. I would look around for a different mushroom soup to make.
Grilled Chicken Salad, p.25 I suspect this recipe was good, in it's day. Like many of these recipes, it was dated - can't hold up to the test of time. The salad dressing probably needed more pizzazz, and maybe some olive oil would have helped. Don't need to belabor this - the recipes were written with idea that all fat was bad.
Asparagus Salad, p. 28 KA-ching! Rosie hit the jackpot on this recipe. **** 4-star rating. I loved it and am making it again this week. Perfect timing since fresh asparagus is appearing in the grocery stores. The blue cheese, yogurt, and lemon juice add the perfect zest to the asparagus. I only stopped eating the asparagus because, sigh, they were gone. Let me know if you want me to include the recipe.
Spinach Salad in Fresh Orange Dressing with Pine Nuts, p30. **2 or 3 star. Here I am in trouble, this is what comes of not writing about the recipe right away. I put a star by the recipe in the book, so I must have liked it. Ah, as I read the recipe it is coming back to me. It WAS good - the shallots/green onions, garlic, balsamic and sherry vinegars, splash of olive oil, and juice from the oranges are warmed in a saute pan and then poured over the spinach salad, topped with orange segments and roasted pine nuts. Very tasty.
Spinach Fettucini with Ginger Chicken, p.54. Very fresh in my mind, since we had this dish tonight. Ingredients are fresh, but, like the Grilled chicken salad, the recipe is dated. It is a lot of work for a recipe that doesn't satisfy the senses or the stomach.
Pasta in White Clam Sauce, p. 63. Another recipe I will not be repeating - not a bad recipe, just not worth trying it again. I would search the internet for a different clam sauce recipe the next time I want to have a dish like this.
But now I am SOoo much more mature. So I will try to write everything I have cooked from Rosie's Cookbook since Day 11. And encapsulate it all on Day 12. But first, the Asparagus Salad recipe, because it was so good and Bonnie and Mary asked for it.
_______________________________________________________________________
Asparagus Salad recipe, p28 from Rosie O'Daley:
28 asparagus spears (2 bundles), trimmed
1/2 C plain nonfat yogurt (use low or regular yogurt)
1 T crumbled blue cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T snipped fresh chives
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
2 tomatoes, cored and cut into wedges
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 C chopped fennel leaves (the feathery ends) (imagine, they don't sell feathery fennel at Winco. I used some fennel seeds in the sauce)
Bring water to a boil in the bottom of a steamer. Fit the basket into the steamer. Steam the asparagus over medium-high heat for about 6 minutes, until bright green and tender. Remove the steamer from the heat and let the asparagus cool.
Combine the yogurt and blue cheese in a small saucepan. Warm over low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, whisking constantly, just until the blue cheese has melted. Remove the pan from the heat and whisk in the lemon juice, chives, and garlic.
Arrange the asparagus in the center of a serving plate and ring with the tomato wedges. Drizzle the yogurt dressing over the asparagus. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and garnish with the fennel leaves.
__________________________________________________________________________
Curried Mushroom Soup, p18. The picture in the cookbook looks so tempting, a yellow, lush, thick-looking soup with bits of mushrooms floating on top. My attempt was a green soup, probably green from the leeks. And composed of mushrooms - LOTS of mushrooms, with some thin broth filling in the void spaces of ALL THOSE MUSHROOMS. I would look around for a different mushroom soup to make.
Grilled Chicken Salad, p.25 I suspect this recipe was good, in it's day. Like many of these recipes, it was dated - can't hold up to the test of time. The salad dressing probably needed more pizzazz, and maybe some olive oil would have helped. Don't need to belabor this - the recipes were written with idea that all fat was bad.
Asparagus Salad, p. 28 KA-ching! Rosie hit the jackpot on this recipe. **** 4-star rating. I loved it and am making it again this week. Perfect timing since fresh asparagus is appearing in the grocery stores. The blue cheese, yogurt, and lemon juice add the perfect zest to the asparagus. I only stopped eating the asparagus because, sigh, they were gone. Let me know if you want me to include the recipe.
Spinach Salad in Fresh Orange Dressing with Pine Nuts, p30. **2 or 3 star. Here I am in trouble, this is what comes of not writing about the recipe right away. I put a star by the recipe in the book, so I must have liked it. Ah, as I read the recipe it is coming back to me. It WAS good - the shallots/green onions, garlic, balsamic and sherry vinegars, splash of olive oil, and juice from the oranges are warmed in a saute pan and then poured over the spinach salad, topped with orange segments and roasted pine nuts. Very tasty.
Spinach Fettucini with Ginger Chicken, p.54. Very fresh in my mind, since we had this dish tonight. Ingredients are fresh, but, like the Grilled chicken salad, the recipe is dated. It is a lot of work for a recipe that doesn't satisfy the senses or the stomach.
Pasta in White Clam Sauce, p. 63. Another recipe I will not be repeating - not a bad recipe, just not worth trying it again. I would search the internet for a different clam sauce recipe the next time I want to have a dish like this.
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