• 2 cans white beans
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 minced garlic
• 3-4 diced sun-dried tomatoes
• 1 cup kalamata olives
• 1 cup artichoke hearts
• herbs (rosemary, basil, oregano, parsley)
• olive oil
• champagne vinegar
• salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes

Saute garlic and onions in olive oil with herbs and salt and pepper. Add a bit more olive oil and whisk in vinegar. Fold in beans and tomatoes and heat through.

Sauce
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
2 ounces pancetta, minced
1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes and their juices, crushed
2 cups red wine

Asparagus with Cucumber Dressing
From Epicurious. I did it a little differently than the recipe called for and it still came out really good. And my way was a lot easier.

Boil 3 pounds asparagus for about 3 minutes and then place into cold water for a couple of minutes. Then, move to a plate and pour the dressing on top.
Dressing
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey (my addition)
4 cups thinly sliced green onions
3 cups 1/4-inch cubes peeled seeded Kirby or English hothouse cucumbers
1 tablespoon chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chervil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon

Pizettes
Also from Epicurious.

1 13.8-ounce package refrigerated pizza dough
3/4 cup grated Fontina cheese (about 2 ounces)
8 cherry tomatoes (about 3 ounces), quartered
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil
1 1/2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, coarsely torn into strips

Also good vegetarian. And there are lots of possibilities here. Both for the crust and the toppings.

Mashed Turnips and Potatoes with Horseradish Crumbs
From Epicurious. We added parsnips, which didn’t soften up quite as much so didn’t mash well. I might choose different root vegetables next time. I grated fresh horseradish in with the crumbs. You’re supposed to toast up the breadcrumbs with half the butter, then added the other half of the butter in with the mash.
2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes such as Yukon Gold
1 1/4 lb turnips
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
1 cup coarse fresh bread crumbs (from 2 slices firm white sandwich bread)
2 tablespoons drained bottled horseradish, patted very dry between paper towels
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup thinly sliced scallion greens

Goat Cheese and Ricotta Crostini
Easy and delicious recipe from Giada De Laurentiis. The trick is not burning the bread when you broil it.

Baquette - sliced, brushed with olive oil, and broiled
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 ounces soft fresh goat cheese
1/4 cup whole milk ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
Salt and pepper

I think you can overdo the lemon peel, so watch for that. Mix the spread ingredients together and serve it with the bread. The spread is also excellent mixed with mashed potatoes the next day.

Spicy Bean Soup
Also from Giada De Laurentiis. This is really spicy, especially the next day. I say the spicier the better, but you know, use your own best judgment. This also makes A LOT of soup.
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 celery stalks, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup chili powder (I used a bit less; it still was super spicy!)
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
2 (14 1/2-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with juices
1 (11 1/2-ounce) can tomato juice
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 (3-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind (this didn’t actually seem to melt or add much, oddly)
2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
2 (15 1/2-ounce) cans garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup dried green lentils
3 cups broccoli florets
2 zucchini, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
2 yellow crookneck squash, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch thick rounds
1/2 cup freshly shredded Parmesan
1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Really good with bread.

Pollo alla Cacciatora
Nigella Lawson recipe. Super fast and easy, yet delicious. I liked it best so far with mashed potatoes.

1 tablespoon garlic oil
1/2 cup pancetta cubes
6 scallions, finely sliced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 pound chicken breast, each cut into 4 pieces
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 (14-ounce) can cannellini beans

Probably too much to eat all in one night, particularly when you add the nectarine and blueberry crisp, served with vanilla ice cream. We tried our best though. 

I also made Kieca’s lentil soup recipe (well, Cook’s Illustrated, technically). Also really great. Although I may have oversalted it.

I may have gotten full from bread and cheese before I started eating, so I might have quite a few leftovers. It’s possible is all I’m saying.

The trouble with this recipe is that it says to roast the cauliflower for 20 minutes and then to mash it with a potato masher. I knew when I read the recipe that this had to be wrong. Cauliflower is not mashable after a 20 minute roasting. But I let my belief in the magazine overrule my intuition.

Basically, you roast a bunch of cauliflower with olive oil and garlic at 500 degrees for 20 minutes. Then, you add green onions, 1 cup of milk, a couple of tablespoons of butter and some salt and pepper. You know, like you would with mashed potatoes. And then you mash it all together.

Right. I tried that. Mashing was not happening. And I didn’t think more roasting would really help. So, I improvised. I made a roux and then I made a white sauce with the milk and green onions, and tossed in some grated cheddar. And then I poured it on top of the cauliflower and roasted it a bit longer.

And it was good, don’t get me wrong. But it sure wasn’t a mash.

1. Buy A LOT of fava beans.
2. More than that. (Fava beans are similar to spinach in that 8 cups turns into about 3 tablespoons once you’re done.)
3. Shell beans, much like you might do with peas.
4. Blanch for about 2 minutes in boiling water.
5. Drain and let cool a little. Then, slip them out of their skins. You normally can just squeeze them a little to do this, although you might need to tear a little hole in the skin first.
6. In a pan, put a bit of olive oil, minced garlic, and red pepper flakes. After about 30 seconds on the heat, add the fava beans and a bit of salt and pepper. Saute for maybe 5 minutes until the beans soften a little.
7. Toast up some pine nuts; or if you’re lazy, just add them in with the beans and hope they toast a little as things cook.
8. Take the beans off the heat and add the pine nuts, then grate a bit of parmesan cheese over everything. Add a bit of sea salt if you want.
9. Enjoy.

This seems like a bit of work, but I find the shelling sort of relaxing, oddly. For 8 cups of beans, I probably use 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp of red pepper flakes, and 4 tablespoons of pine nuts. That probably serves 2-3 people as a side dish, although I could eat the entire thing myself.

This is a Rhone white blend, so I assumed I would like it. But actually, not so much. It’s a blend of Grenache Blanc (60%), Viognier (20%), and Roussanne (10%). I don’t know that I’ve ever had Grenache Blanc before, and Viognier is hit or miss with me. From some quick Googling, it seems like the red was a bit more well-received than the white.

It looks like this wine runs from around $13 - $17, and for that price, lots of other better possibilities exist. I snagged this bottle from work, and I’m not really sure I can even drink one glass.

But I don’t know. Apparently Wine Enthusiast called the 2002 “crowd-pleasing”, so maybe I just have odd taste in wine. I am drinking an Austrian white right now that Kieca might call “awesome”, so I’ll try to write that up soon so it doesn’t seem like I hate everything.

Filling
4 small avocadoes
1/2 small red onion, diced
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 tbl fresh oregano, chopped
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes (soaked in hot water for 10 minutes, then chopped)
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes
dash cumin

I filled 6 corn tortillas and put them in an oiled baking dish. I sprayed some oil over the top so they’d get crispy as they baked. I baked them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

Sauce
1/4 cup cashews
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup parsley
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes
dash cumin
2 green onions, chopped
3 tbl honey
dash worcestershire sauce
1 tbl white wine vinegar
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

I mixed everything up in the food processor and served it on the side.

Cheese enchiladas
I really wanted cheese and onion enchiladas, but I didn’t have any of the ingredients. So, I made it up as I went along.

Sauce
28 oz. tomato sauce
1 tbl minced onion
2 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 tbl cumin
1 tbl chili powder
2 chipotle peppers, chopped
1 tbl adobo sauce
1 tsp oregano
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tbl sugar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp paprika
1 dried habanero pepper

I adjusted these spices to taste, so I’m not sure exactly what I ended up with. It was spicy though. I simmered it for about 20 minutes.

Filling
1 sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbl olive oil
2 cups fat-free sour cream
4 oz chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded monterey jack
2 tbl fresh oregano, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
dash red pepper flakes

I sauteed the onions and garlic in olive oil and added salt, pepper, and a few spices. Then I added them to the rest of the ingredients and mixed it all together. I covered the bottom of a baking dish with some of the sauce, heated up 1o flour tortillas so soften them, then filled them up and rolled them and put them in the baking dish, seam down. Then, I poured more sauce over everything to cover (I only used about half), and sprinkled shredded cheese over the top. I baked it for around 25 minutes, then sprinkled some chopped tomatoes and chopped green onions over the top.

So cheesy and good.