Recipes

Ingredients
1 bunch Swiss chard
4 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper
¹⁄₂ cup Jarlsberg cheese, shredded
2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons dried bread crumbs
2 tablespoon Parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed

Instructions
1. THAW PHYLLO DOUGH.  This is very important and a good thing to remember the day before you’re making the recipe.  Don’t be like me and forget until the night you’re planning to prepare this only to have to shift all of your meals around to compensate for a day of thawing.  

2. Preheat oven to 375*F.  

3. Rinse and drain the chard. Remove the stems, trim and discard the woody bottoms, chop the rest, and set aside. Coarsely chop the leaves.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a skillet over low heat. Add the onion and sauté until wilted, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chard stems, and cook 3 minutes.

5. Stir in the chard leaves, and cook 3 minutes more. Drain off the excess liquid, and transfer the mixture to a bowl. Season with the salt and pepper. Stir in the Jarlsberg, 1 tablespoon of the crumbs, and the Parmesan. Set aside.

6. Stir the butter and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil together in a small bowl.

7. Open 1 sheet of phyllo on a work surface. Brush it with some of the butter and oil mixture. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the crumbs.

8. Top with 4 more sheets of phyllo, brushing each with butter and oil and sprinkling each with crumbs. Top with the remaining sheet, and brush it with butter and oil.

9. Spoon the filling along one short end of the phyllo, leaving about 1 ¹⁄₂ inches empty on each side. Fold the long sides in, overlapping the filling by 1 ¹⁄₂ inches, to enclose the ends of the filling.

10. Roll the phyllo and filling over onto itself to form a strudel roll. Place it on a baking sheet seam side down and brush the top with any remaining butter and oil. Bake until deep golden, 25 minutes. Let the strudel stand for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Comments
This recipe is from The New Basics Cookbook.  Since I got two bunches of chard this week, and wanted to do something different with at least one of them, this is the recipe I decided to try.  We all loved it and found it delicious, but I have a feeling that you could wrap anything in phyllo dough and it would turn out well!

Shown here with Filet Mignon and Mushrooms.

New Basics Cookbook

Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ cups olive oil
6 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 large shallot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano (or 1 tablespoon dried), chopped
1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, plus more for garnish, chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2-3 pounds potatoes, each cut into wedges (I’ve used everything from large baking potatoes to small Yukon golds.  I feel the smaller potatoes work the best)
¹⁄₂ cup chicken broth

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425*F.

2. Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, garlic, oregano, and parsley in a medium bowl to blend; season with salt and pepper.  Or use an immersion blender.  

3. Toss potatoes with ¹⁄₂ cup vinaigrette on a heavy, large, rimmed baking sheet. Reserve the remaining vinaigrette. Pour chicken stock around potatoes and season potatoes with salt and pepper. Roast potatoes until tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 45 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette and more chopped parsley.

Comments
I love these potatoes.  I’ve been making them for years now and they’re just so lemony and perfect.  They go well with other Greek foods, like lamb, but also go well with everything from burgers to grilled chicken.  I tend to serve the remaining vinaigrette on the side and let people sauce them as desired.

Shown here with Cod with Lemon-Caper Sauce.

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Ingredients
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon dried marjoram
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
2 teaspoons kosher salt
¹⁄₂ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 pounds ground lamb

Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 325*F.

2. Process the onion in a food processor for 10 to 15 seconds and turn out into the center of a clean kitchen towel. Gather up the ends of the towel and squeeze until almost all of the juice is removed. Discard juice.

3. Return the onion to the food processor and add the garlic, marjoram, rosemary, salt, and pepper and process until pureed. Add the lamb slowly, pulsing until all the lamb is incorporated and the consistency of fine paste.  Stop the processor as needed to scrape down sides of bowl.

4. Place the mixture into a loaf pan, making sure to press into the sides of the pan. Bake for 60 to 75 minutes or until the mixture reaches 165 to 170*F. Remove from the oven and drain off any fat. Place the loaf pan on a cooling rack and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes, until the internal temperature reaches 175*F.

5. Slice and serve on pita bread with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce, chopped red onion, tomatoes and feta cheese.

Comments
This recipe comes from the amazing Alton Brown.  I remember watching the episode some years back and it came to mind when I was trying to figure out something to do with my leftover Cucumber Yogurt Sauce from the previous week.  

The next time I make this, I think I’ll cook it a bit rarer, maybe aim for 160*F after baking.  I think that a lot of that delicious lamb flavor is in the fat and cooking it to 170*F renders too much of the fat.  

Leftovers were great in salad form.  I chopped up some pita bread and tossed it with the gyro meat, feta, and grape tomatoes.  Then I used the remaining Cucumber Yogurt Sauce as a dressing.  I will definitely be revisiting this recipe in the future.

Internet - Food TV

Ingredients
Pastry for 9-inch pie (I use Pillsbury, but you could make your own if desired)

Custard for one quiche
3 eggs
1 ¹⁄₂ cups milk (I use 1%)
¹⁄₂ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt, or to taste
¹⁄₄ teaspoon pepper, or to taste

Filling Variety #1
1 ¹⁄₂ cups cheddar cheese, shredded
12 ounces center cut bacon, chopped, sautéed until just crisp, and drained
1 cup broccoli, cooked and chopped from fresh or frozen
¹⁄₂ cup green onions, thinly sliced

Filling Variety #2
8 ounces brie, sliced ¹⁄₄-inch thick
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
1 cup sliced deli ham, cut into small cubes
¹⁄₂ cup green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 425*F.

2. Roll the pastry into an 11-inch circle. Line a 9-inch pie dish with the rolled dough. Weigh down the pastry using pie weights or dried beans to prevent the crust from rising or just poke it with a lot of holes and press it down after it pre-bakes. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and remove weights.

3. Decrease oven temperature to 350*F.

4. In a large bowl, beat the eggs lightly. Add the milk, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper; beat until combined.

5. Prepare filling variety of your choice, place filling into pie shell and toss gently.  Pour in custard mixture. 

6. Bake 50 to 60 minutes or until puffy and slightly browned on top. Let stand 10 minutes before slicing.

Cheddar, Bacon, Broccoli Quiche

Brie, Peas, Ham Quiche

Comments
I feel like posting more quiche recipes is a bit of a cheat, since they’re all just variations on a theme.  I got the idea for the Brie, Peas, Ham Quiche from the movie Waitress.  It’s one of the pies that Keri Russell’s character dreams up and names Bad Baby Pie.  It’s one of our favorites.

1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

Ingredients
1 cup butter
8 ounces cream cheese
³⁄₄ cup granulated sugar
³⁄₄ cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 ¹⁄₂ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Place butter and cream cheese in your mixing bowl and leave them alone for 20 minutes while gathering your other ingredients.  

3. Add white and brown sugar to mixing bowl and beat until well combined.  Add egg and vanilla and mix well.

4. Mix dry ingredients together and add to liquids. Mix just until flour is incorporated. Add chocolate chips.

5. Dish onto baking sheets with a #30 disher or large spoon.  Cookies should be 2-3 tablespoons of dough.  Bake about 20 minutes or until cookies are starting to brown on the edges.  

6. Remove cookie sheet from oven and place on a cooling rack.  Cool cookies on the sheet on the rack for 20 minutes before removing from the cookie sheet.  The cookies will firm up and finish cooking with the heat from the cookie sheet.  

Note: My preferred cookie making method involves placing the dough onto parchment paper.  When the cookies are cooled, I can slide the paper (and cookies) off the cookie sheet and slide a sheet with uncooked dough back onto the cookie sheet.  

Comments
I ran across this recipe online somewhere and figured they’d be great to make when we had company over for the 3rd of July.  The original recipe made cookies that were a bit smaller, so it took me some time to figure out the right cooking time.  20 minutes yields a cookie that’s nice and soft in the middle, but fully cooked.  These are not hard cookies.  The flavor of the cream cheese is a nice treat.

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Ingredients
4-6 filet mignon steaks, 1-inch thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
2 cups red wine (If you run out of red wine, like I did, feel free to use white)
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 375*F.

2. Season both sides of the filet mignon generously with salt and pepper. In a large heavy, ovenproof skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Place the steaks in the hot pan and cook until well seared on 1 side, about 3 minutes. Turn the steaks over, there should be a nice crust on top. Add the mushrooms, garlic, and rosemary; give everything a good stir. Transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 10 to 12 minutes or until the steaks are cooked medium-rare.

3. Remove the steaks to a platter; cover to keep warm. Return the pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Deglaze with the wine, scraping up all the yummy bits in the bottom of the pan.

4. Simmer until the wine is reduced and has formed a nice glaze on the mushrooms.  Add the butter to make it rich and stir until it has melted.

5. Serve the steaks topped with glazed mushrooms.  

Comments
This recipe was supposed to be completely different, but I got distracted, ran out of red wine, and a few other things didn’t happen quite the way I had initially intended.  The result was still fantastic and filet mignon is always a big hit in my home.  

I used to get 2-inch steaks from the butcher but I’m finding that I get much better and consistent results with 1-inch steaks, and people can always eat two of them if they want.

Shown here with Swiss Chard Strudel.

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Ingredients
1-2 pounds pork tenderloin
1 small head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 envelope stroganoff seasoning
1 envelope mushroom gravy
1 can (10 ¹⁄₂ ounces) cream of mushroom soup
1 cup water
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1-2 cups frozen green beans
1 cup half and half

Instructions
1, Cut pork into 1-inch cubes; place in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Add onion and cabbage. Combine stroganoff mix, gravy mix, soup, water, caraway seeds and pepper together; pour over pork mixture and stir to coat.

2. Cover and cook on LOW 7 to 9 hours. About 30 minutes before serving, turn to HIGH and add frozen green beans. Add half and half just before serving.

3. Serve with rice, egg noodles, or biscuits.  

Comments
I found this recipe while looking for something to do with a head of cabbage.  Using the slow cooker was a bonus since I was out of the house all day due to a quick trip to see my parents.  I chopped everything up the night before and put it in a container in the fridge.  Then I just dumped it all in the slow cooker before hitting the road.  By the time I got home the house smelled like cabbage and all I had to do was add the green beans and make rice.  

Lance and I both found this very tasty, Art wasn’t a fan although he at least found it edible.  Art isn’t a fan of pot roast-type meat in general, so it’s not a surprise that he didn’t love this.  It was tasty, tender, and full of flavor.

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Ingredients
1 pound beets and potatoes (I used mostly beets and 1 small Yukon gold potato in order to get a pound of roots)
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ cup flour
2 tablespoons butter

Instructions
1. Trim the beets and potatoes and peel; shred them in a food processor or by hand. Begin preheating a medium to large non-stick skillet over medium heat.

2. Toss the grated beets and potatoes in a bowl with the rosemary and salt, then add about half the flour; toss well, add the rest of the flour, then toss again.

3. Place the butter in the skillet and heat until it begins to turn light brown. Scrape the beet and potato mixture into the skillet, shape it into a nice circle, and press it down with a spatula. Turn the heat to medium-high and cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the bottom of the beet cake is nicely crisp, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Slide the cake out onto a plate, top with another plate, invert the two plates, and slide the cake back into the pan. Continue to cook, adjusting the heat if necessary, until the second side is browned. Cut into wedges and serve immediately.  

Comments
This recipe is adapted from Mark Bittman’s fantastic How to Cook Everything.  There’s even a new edition that I hadn’t been aware of, so there’s one more cookbook for my wish list.  The original recipe called for a pound of beets but I didn’t have quite that many, so I added in a potato to make up the weight.  

I found this to be delicious, Lance liked it, and Art was a little dubious.  Perhaps I’m turning into a lover of beets?  

Shown here with Pan-Glazed Chicken with Basil.

How to Cook Everything

Ingredients
3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
¹⁄₄ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

Instructions
1. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt & pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Turn chicken, and cook 6 minutes or until chicken is done.

2. Stir in balsamic vinegar, honey, and basil; cook 1 minute and serve.  

Note: If you’re serving this with rice or noodles, double sauce ingredients. Use 2 teaspoons of basil if using dried instead of fresh.  

Comments
I love this recipe, it’s simple and flavorful and comes together quickly.  The recipe as written yields nicely glazed chicken but I’ve increased the sauce from time to time in order to serve it tossed with broccoli and pasta.  If you decide to make this with vegetables like broccoli, steam them separately.  If you do it in the skillet with the sauce, the vegetables will absorb the vinegar and not be very tasty.

Shown here with Risotto with Peas and Prosciutto.

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Ingredients
1 ¹⁄₂ cups sugar
¹⁄₃ cups brown sugar
³⁄₄ cups oil (Believe it or not, I use olive oil)
2 eggs
2 cups flour
³⁄₄ teaspoons baking powder
³⁄₄ teaspoons baking soda
¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 ¹⁄₂ cups zucchini, finely chopped or shredded
³⁄₄ cups nut pieces such as walnuts or pecans, optional

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350*F.

2. Combine sugars, oil, and eggs and mix. In another bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to sugar mixture to moisten. Carefully fold in zucchini and nuts, if using. Divide mixture into 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 55 minutes or until done.

Comments
I have no idea where this recipe is from but I’ve been using it for a few years now.  It suits me because, aside from the zucchini, it only uses pantry items and eggs.  It makes a delicious, cinnamony, and dense bread.  I can never decide if this is dessert, breakfast, or what!

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