Barefoot Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Oh boy...this one is a keeper.

Today is Barefoot Thursday (barely...I'm squeaking it in at the last possible moment-I can't even use Pacific time as a cover-I'm east coast and it's pushing 11:00 p.m.) and as with all Barefoot Thursdays, (Barefoot) food bloggers near and far prepare a delicious Ina Garten (aka: The Barefoot Contessa) recipe.

Today's recipe selection was made by Cat of Delta Whiskey. Cat, whose birthday just happens to be today (Happy Birthday!!); she selected Pasta with Sun-dried Tomatoes. This recipe was divinely easy and divinely tasty.

One small glitch though with my post, I am unable to post my pictures yet because the battery went dead just as I was trying to upload...so I will temporarily direct you over to Cat's blog where she has very lovely pictures of her very delicious selection! Meantime I will charge my camera and post some photos tomorrow!!

I prepared this recipe for the Women's shelter that I cook for so I had to do a little doubling and tripling here and there. Ina Garten's original recipe is here. I'm sharing the recipe as I adapted it for 20. (Oh and I forgot to buy the olives...so it's sans black olives...sorry!)

Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes for 20
adapted from Ina Garten from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

1 1/2 pounds pasta (I used mini-penne)
kosher salt
Olive oil
3 pints grape tomatoes, quartered
2 pounds fresh mozzarella, medium diced
18 sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
for the dressing:
10 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 cup good olive oil
2 garlic cloves, diced
2 teaspoons capers
3 teaspoons kosher salt (I know, I know that's a lot...but it really tastes good)
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 1/2 cups packed basil leaves, julienned

Directions:
Cook the pasta in two batches 3/4 lb. at a time in a large pot of boiling salted water. Boil for 12 minutes or according to the directions on the package. Drain well, toss with a bit of olive oil to keep it from sticking and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a large bowl and add the tomatoes, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic capers, salt and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with Parmesan and basil and toss well.

Gazpacho and Avocado-lime Chicken Pitas

Well I had every good intention of posting my Barefoot Blogger's Gazpacho before I left to go away, but you know how it goes...I mean I had to pack for everyone! So here it is now and as an added bonus I've included the recipe for a tasty little pita sandwich that I served with it.

The Gazpacho, the second of the June recipes for the Barefoot Bloggers was selected byMeryl of My Bit of Earth. Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers that prepare two Ina Garten (aka: The Barefoot Contessa) recipes each month (unless you go away and then have to prepare 3 Ina Garten recipes in one month!).

So yeah, Gazpacho...cold tomato soup...hmmm. Well, because it was an Ina Garten recipe the flavors were really delicious, but I've got to tell you I'm not much for the cold soup thing. Hot, steamy July day withstanding, I'd still rather have my soup hot (which truthfully I did! I warmed up my little bowl in the microwave and served it just warm...and you know what...it was great!) The recipe for Ina's Gazpacho is here.

On the side I served a tasty little pita stuffed with chicken, broccoli slaw, avocado and tomato...it was the perfect accompaniment. Broccoli slaw is a delicious (and healthful) convenience I found in the produce aisle of the supermarket. It is a combination of shredded broccoli, cabbage and carrots all conveniently packaged and ready to eat.

I have long been a broccoli hater that has really wanted to be a broccoli at least liker, but I just haven't been able to stomach it. I know how good broccoli is for you and I really, really want to like it and this has made it almost possible! I love this stuff...it is fabulous tucked in a sandwich for a delicious, healthful crunch. I also love to quickly blanch it, season lightly with salt and pepper then serve it with grilled meats...simple and delicious!

Avocado-lime Chicken Pitas

1 avocado, seed removed, diced

8 grape tomatoes, very thinly sliced

1 cup broccoli slaw

1 cup small diced cooked chicken (such as leftover grilled or store-bought rotisserie)

4 basil leaves, very finely chopped

1 teaspoon lime juice

2 teaspoons red pepper flavored olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 small whole wheat pitas, split open

In a large bowl, combine the diced avocado, tomatoes, broccoli slaw, chicken, basil, lime juice, oil, kosher salt and pepper; stir gently to combine well.

Using a small spoon, stuff the pitas with the filling, evenly dividing.

Yield: 4 pita sandwiches

Ribeyes, Couscous and Carrots

One of the most economical ways to put a steak dinner on your table is to purchase the whole "roast" and have the butcher at your supermarket or meat market cut it into individual steaks. Typically rib eye steaks can cost anywhere from 7-9 dollars a pound and buying the roast will save you a few bucks-I have a supermarket nearby that periodically offers whole rib roasts for about $4.99/lb...nice deal!

I recently purchased a whole rib eye roast, had the butcher cut it into 1 1/2 inch steaks, and today grilled them and served them with a tasty Caramelized Shallot Couscous and quick sauteed Rosemary Carrots.

The creamy pungent flavor of blue cheese makes it a natural to pair with beef. I prepared the grilled rib eyes nice and pink and served it sliced with a creamy blue cheese sauce. No surprise here, but, the Barefoot Contessa has a recipe for a delicious blue cheese sauce that I often make for grilled steak. A word of caution here though...while this is an incredibly simple recipe-DO NOT LEAVE YOUR POT UNATTENDED!! Today I put the cream on the stove as directed and brought it to a boil forgetting about it while I was prepping the steaks until...I heard a "pst..sizzle" sound and saw a ton of steam. I ran to the stove and I watched in horror as a milk white waterfall of cream boiled over coating my glass cook top with a bubbling mess. Oh it will be a few weeks before that burns off or I can scrub it off and get it shiny again(any tips for cleaning glass cook tops would be greatly appreciated!)

Couscous makes a quick simple side and is especially great when you are making other dishes for your meal that may need a bit more of your attention. Tasty all by itself, this couscous can be a meal by itself and is great to use up any leftover steak you may have from a barbecue (just stir in the steak with the beef broth).

There are some days when you need to let your supermarket be your sous chef. A handy product I found recently in the supermarket fits that bill-premium Matchstix carrots. Being a home cook with limited knife skills, cutting carrots this small (and this uniform) would probably take the better part of an afternoon. These carrots saved time and actually had great flavor.

Grilled Ribeyes with Blue Cheese Sauce

Steaks:

4 boneless ribeye steaks

2 tablespoons salt

Blue Cheese Sauce (adapted from Ina Garten's Gorgonzola Sauce from The Barefoot Contessa Parties):

2 cups heavy cream

2 ounces blue cheese (I used a Danish blue cheese)

2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salt and pepper to taste

Arrange the steaks on a work surface and season both sides with the salt and let rest for 15 minutes.

Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a medium sized sauce pan over medium high heat; let boil (watching!) for about 30 minutes. Stir in the blue cheese Parmesan cheese and the pepper.

Preheat a gas grill to medium high heat. Gently rinse the salt from the steaks and pat dry. Lightly oil the grill rack and grill the steaks for 9-11 minutes for medium rare, turning halfway through cooking. Remove steaks from the grill and let rest on a cutting board for 8-10 minutes. Carve steak into 1/4 inch thick slices and season to tastse with additional salt and pepper.

Caramelized Shallot Couscous

1 tablespoon butter

2 large shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cup whole wheat couscous

1 cup beef broth

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat; stir in the shallots, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce. Let the shallots cook, stirring occasionally, until tender. Stir in the couscous and toast lightly. Add the beef broth, bring just to a boil then remove from the heat, cover and let sit for 5 minutes. To serve, stir to combine the shallots and season lightly to taste with the salt and pepper.

Quick Sauteed Rosemary Carrots

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

8 ounces Matchstix Carrots

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried rosemary

Heat the oil in a 10 inch skillet over medium heat; stir in the carrots, salt and rosemary and cook for 3-4 minutes just until tender-crisp.

Curried Couscous

It's Barefoot Thursday!

Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers that twice a month prepare a (almost always) delicious recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten. This weeks recipe was selected by Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester . She chose Curried Couscous from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook.

Well I'm going to be totally up front with you...I did not want to like this recipe. I have long turned my nose up at all things "curried"-and honestly only because of the smell; I just can't stand the smell of curry. But I made the recipe thinking Ina has never steered me wrong and why would I let my aberrant fear of curry stand in the way of a potentially delicious dinner?

Well..she did it again-it was a fabulous recipe. I made one omission and one addition (and one little tweak-for personal taste). The omission was the raisins/currants. I only like raisins if they are covered in chocolate and since I did not think that chocolate would be a good addition omission seemed the only option-my kids were grateful for that. (And speaking of my kids, they don't really care for nuts so while I did add the almonds to the final dish I photographed the dish before stirring them in!)

The addition was to take an entire rotisserie chicken, dice and toss in...it was delicious and made it a meal.

And now for the tweak...I am almost embarrassed about the tweak. In my heart I knew that Ina would know just the right amount of each ingredient, but when it came to adding in the curry my olfactory receptors seemed to take over and make me decrease the curry to 1/2 teaspoon...it was curried enough.

Curried Couscous

Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

1 1/2 cups couscous

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup good olive oil

1 teaspoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon curry powder

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup small-diced carrots

1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup dried currants or raisins

1/4 cup blanched sliced almonds

2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)

1/4 cup small-diced red onion

Directions:

Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and the red onions, mix well and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

(Sorry about this photo...it's been dark and rainy around here the last few days and so hard to get a bright shot!:))

Avocado Oil and a Seductive Tomato

I have made evident in the past my love of the avocado; so it should come as no surprise that the other day while I was perusing my supermarket for something interesting I was drawn to a bottle of avocado oil.

Hmmm oil of an avocado...I knew it was "fatty" fruit (albeit the "good" kind of fat), but it honestly never occurred to me that there was such a thing as avocado oil; into the cart it went and off I went to find something to use it with.

During the "non-local-tomato-months" I am generally a purchaser only of those mini plastic containers of grape or cherry tomatoes since I often find the supermarket tomatoes to be gritty and flavorless. Well here we are June in Connecticut and obviously no one is harvesting tomatoes at any of the farms around here, but for whatever reason the Heirloom tomato selection at our local Whole Foods was looking rather seductive and quite honestly I could not resist a shapely and bright, yellow tomato. It was settled I would use my avocado oil for a salad using the yellow tomato, herb salad mix, and fresh mozzarella cheese.

This past weekend my H and I enjoyed a few glasses of a tasty Argentinian Malbec, but (shockingly) did not finish the bottle. Not being one to let tasty wine go to waste I decided to make a reduction to add to my salad. I had about 2/3 of a cup left and reduced it down to a tangy little tablespoon and swirled in a touch of honey-it was a perfect accent.

The avocado oil gave a lovely essence of avocado flavor to the salad. I am certain that a diced avocado added to the salad would be over the top delicious so in the future that is the only change I will make. But for today I'm cutting a few calories at lunch so that I can enjoy the tasty Carvel Ice Cream Cake I bought for my DH for his birthday today!

Heirloom Tomato and Mozzarella Salad with Avocado Oil and a Honeyed Malbec Reduction

2/3 cup Malbec

1/4 teaspoon wildflower honey

8 cups mixed salad greens

1 small shallot, very thinly sliced

3 large yellow Heirloom tomato, each cut into 6 slices

4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese cut into 8 slices

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

8 teaspoons Avocado oil

2 tablespoons finely sliced fresh basil

In small skillet over medium high heat reduce the Malbec to 1 tablespoon; stir in the honey, pour into a small bowl and set aside to cool.

Divide the greens between 4 serving plates. Scatter the shallots over the greens. Alternate the tomato and the cheese and fan over the greens on each plate. Season each salad with the salt and pepper.

Drizzle each salad with a teaspoon of the Malbec reduction and two teaspoons of the oil. Garnish each with the fresh basil.

Yield: 4 salads

Really Outrageous Brownies

Never has a recipe, IMHO, had a more fitting title...this week's Barefoot Blogger recipe is Ina Garten's "Outrageous Brownies". And friends let me tell you...outrageous they indeed are.

In my busy little corner of the world I am frequently able to convince myself that a boxed brownie mix delivers a "homemade", melt in your mouth chocolaty treat. That is until I make the effort to prepare a "from scratch" version and then I know I'm simply fooling myself...a boxed mix just can't compare to the results that a recipe like this gives you...fudgy, rich and really melt in your mouth chocolaty-ness.

I made only one slight alteration to the recipe and that was to use half semi-sweet chocolate chips and half bittersweet (60% Cacao) chips. The bittersweet chips give an extra richness. The hardest part about this recipe, which the Food Network classified as difficult, is melting the chocolate. Chocolate can be very temperamental...I have tossed many a bowlful of seized chocolate and let me tell you as delicious as correctly melting chocolate smells, burnt chocolate is a horrendous smell! In my opinion it's not worth the risk to melt (often expensive) chocolate in the microwave-make the extra effort and melt it over a double boiler or as I do in a bowl over a pot of simmering water.

Stonewall Kitchen sells the boxed version of this recipe I would love to hear if anyone has ever tried both the boxed version and the homemade version...do they compare? Ina's recipe below says that it makes 20 large brownies, I usually cut them a great deal smaller for about 48 brownies.

FYI the Barefoot Bloggers are a group of bloggers devoted to preparing 2 of Ina Garten's (aka The Barefoot Contessa) recipes each month.

Outrageous Brownies
Copyright (c) 1999 by Ina Garten
Makes 20 Large Brownies “Inspiration for this recipe came from the Chocolate Glob in the SoHo Charcuterie Cookbook published by William Morrow in 1982. In its heyday, the SoHo Charcuterie was the cutting edge of New York restaurants. The giant confection was a blob of chocolate dough filled with chocolate chips and nuts. I though I could make a brownie with almost the same formula. They’ve been flying out the door for fifteen years!”
-Ina Garten

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 12 x 18 x 1-inch baking sheet.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound of the chocolate chips, and the unsweetened chocolate in a medium bowl over simmering water. Allow to cool slightly. In a large bowl, stir (do not beat) together the eggs, coffee granules, vanilla, and sugar. Stir the warm chocolate mixture into the egg mixture and allow to cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup of flour, the baking powder, and salt. Add to the cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the walnuts and 12 ounces of chocolate chips in a medium bowl with 1/4 cup flour, then add them to the chocolate batter. Pour onto the baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, then rap the baking sheet against the oven self to force the air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Bake for about 15 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Do not over bake! Allow to cool thoroughly, refrigerate, and cut into 20 large squares.

Notes: Flouring the chips and walnuts keeps them for sinking to the bottom. It is very important to allow the batter to cool well before adding the chocolate chips, or the chips will melt and ruin the brownies. This recipe can be baked up to a week in advance, wrapped in plastic, and refrigerated.

Steak Tostadas

I am a steak girl. Steak is one of the few meats that everyone in my family will agree on. This past weekend we grilled just about every meal...today's recipe is one of those meals-it's quick and easy and you probably have most of the ingredients right in your fridge. Starting this past weekend (Memorial Day) I'm also a lobster roll girl...my very favorite restaurant opened for the season: Abbott's Lobster in the Rough in Noank, CT. (I'm going to make you very jealous right now) they have the ultimate lobster rolls: steamed fresh lobster piled high on a toasted roll drenched in hot melted butter! No globby mayo for the Connecticut style lobster roll-just lobster and butter.

Attention all of you Food Network Star wannabes!! World Harbors, makers of delicious sauces and marinades, is running a contest right now that some of you may be interested in entering. It's called The World Harbors Look Local Video Contest. The way it works is you make a short (2 minutes) video of a locally themed recipe that you created and you post it at the World Harbors facebook page (there is a sample on their facebook page). If you are a little camera shy you may also enter a "print" recipe with a photo. World Harbors will be giving prizes for the best video and for the best print recipe.

I have long been a fan of World Harbors sauces -I won a contest a few years ago using their Chimichurri sauce and marinade-why don't you give it a go and try to win a great prize for yourself! For a little inspiration I've made some steak tostadas (not very local for Connecticut this time of year...we can't grow avocados here ever and this time of year it's too early for tomatoes...I probably should have made something with asparagus since that's about the only local food right now, but I felt like making tostadas and I really didn't think asparagus tostadas would work.) Not to worry if there isn't too much coming out of your garden or Farmer's market right now because you have until July 15 to enter.

Quick Steak Tostadas

2 boneless strip steaks (cut 1 1/4 inches thick)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup World Harbors Steak Sauce

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 cup diced tomatoes

1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1 tablespoon lime juice

2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

4 (6 inch) corn tortillas

2 cups shredded romaine lettuce

(you can add some shredded cheese if you would like...I decided to go cheeseless this time)

Preheat grill to medium high heat.

Grill steaks on preheated grill for 9-11 minutes, turning once. Transfer to a cutting board, season with the salt and pepper then let rest for 10 minutes.

In a small bowl combine the avocado, tomatoes, jalapeno and lime juice.

Heat 1 teaspoon of the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat, add two of the tortillas and cook until lightly browned on both sides; repeat with remaining teaspoon of oil and remaining tortillas.

Spread the avocado mixture over the tortillas, evenly dividing. Carve the steak into 1/4 inch thick slices and fan over the avocado mixture on each tortilla. Drizzle the steak sauce over the steak. Top with the shredded lettuce.

Yield: 4 servings