Cook’s Illustrated – March & April 2005

I little more work then putting them in the microwave, infintely better taste.

Ingredients:

• 2 flour tortillas
• 2/3 cup shredded Monterey Jack and/or cheddar cheese
• Vegetable oil from brushing tortillas
• Kosher salt

Directions:

1. Heat nonstick skillet over medium heat until hot, about 2 minutes. Place tortilla in skillet and toast until soft and puffed slightly at edges, about 2 minutes. Flip tortilla and toast until puffed and slightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Slip tortilla onto cutting board. Repeast to toast second tortilla while assembling first quesadilla. Sprinkle half the cheese over half of tortilla, leaving 1/2 inch border around edge. Fold tortilla in half and press to flatted. Brush top generously with oil, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside. Repeat to form second quesadilla.
2. Place both quesadillas in skillet, oiled sides down; cook over medium heat until crisp and well browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Brush tops with oil and sprinkly lightly with salt. Flip quesadillas and cook until second sides are crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer quesadillas to cutting board; cool about 3 minutes, cut and serve.

Cooling the quesadillas before cutting and serving is important; straight from the skillet, the cheese is molten and will ooze out. finished quesadilla can be held on a baking sheet in a 200 degree oven for up to 20 minutes.

Cook’s Illustrated – March & April 2005

Very good and easy. Cutting the tomatoes takes a bit of time, but most of the work is done by the oven so this is good for having company or just for busy people.

Ingredients:

• 1 medium shallot, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3 pints (2 pounds)cherry tomatoes, each tomato halved pole to pole
• Table salt
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon sherry, or red wine vinegar
• 3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
• 1 large bunch arugula, leaves torn into bite-sized pieces (about 4 cups loosely packed)
• 4 ounced goat cheese, crumbled (about 1/2 cup)

Directions:

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, toss shallots with 1 teaspoon oil; set aside. In medium bowl, gently toss tomatoes with remaining oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper flakes, black pepper, sugar, vinegar, and garlic. Spread in even layer on rimmed baking sheet (about 17 by 12 inched), scatter shallots over tomatoes; roast until edges of shallots begin to brown and tomato skins are slighly shriveled (tomatoes shoes retain their shape), 35 to 40 minutes. (Do not stir tomatoes during roasting.) Remove tomatoes from oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes.
2. While tomatoes cook, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large stockpot. Just before removing tomatoes from oven, stir 1 tablespoon salt and pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain pasta and return to pot; add arugula and toss until wilted. Using rubbeer spatula, scrape tomato mixture into pot on top of pasta and toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling cheese over individual bowls.

Homemade chocolate sauce, very good. Actually doesn’t contain any Bailey’s liquor, instead is named after a cholatier in Cambridge, Mass. Regardless, good over ice cream, strawberries, bananas, anything you’d put chocolate sauce on. Thanks Martha.

Chocolate Sauce

Ingredients:

• 2 oz cooking chocolate
• small evaporated milk
• 1 stick of butter (8 oz)
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Melt butter and chocolate in small sauce pan. Remove from heat.
2. Add milk and sugar, alternately, stirring out lumps.
3. Return to low heat and cool slowly for 8 minutes or until thicker, stirring out lumps.

Asparagus Gratin – Every Night Italian

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus, tough ends trimmed and stems peeled
• 6 slices prosciutto or thin-sliced deli ham
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

Directions:

1. Cook asparagus in 1/2 inch lightly salted boiling water in a large skillet 5 to 7 minutes or until tender. Drain
2. Divide asparagus into 6 equal bundles. Wrap each bundle with a slice of prosciutto; place in a shallow flameproof baking dish.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add bread crumbs; cook, stirring, 1 minutes. Pour mixture over asparagus bundles. Top with cheese.
4. Heat broiler. Run bundles under broiler until cheese lightly browns, about 1 minute.

Serves 6 people

Caramel is one of the greatest desserts ever, probably because there is a sugar in caramel. Maria was the greatest teacher ever, probably because she eats a lot of caramel which as we all know, has sugar in it. I think her success during her time as a fourth grade teacher, during which she always incorporated informal conversations and observations into her individual assessment practices was because of the sugar. Fortunately Maria has moved on into educational administration so that my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Johnson, can retain the lead among top fourth grade teachers.

Editor’s Note: Writing about teachers is scary because I know they’ll critque my run-on sentences and my grammers and my spellingz.

Caramel Bars – ala Maria

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 14 oz package of caramels
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine (Maria uses butter, so will you), soft
• 1 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup peanuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Combine flour, oats, baking soda, brown sugar, and salt.
2. Cut in butter until pea-sized mixture.
3. Spread 3/4 of the mixture into a greased 9×13 pan.
4. Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.
5. Combine caramels and milk in saucepan and melt.
6. Sprinkle chocolate chips and peanuts on top of baked mixture.
7. Drizzle caramel mixture on top of chips and peanuts.
8. Bake for 12 minutes at 350.
9. Cool completely and cut into bars. Yum!

Thanks to Quaker Oats and a couple Sara(h)’s, this recipe is awesome. Great dough, great cookies, I eat them up.

Vanishing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies – modified from Quaker Oats

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups Quaker Oats

Directions:

1. Beat together butter and sugars until creamy
2. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well
3. Add combined flour, baking soda and salt, mix well
4. Stir in oats, and then chocolate chips
5. Drop by rounded spoonfulls onto cookie sheet
6. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown
7. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheet; remove to wire rack

Makes about 4 dozen.

This is a really easy recipe that takes advantage of wonderful summer vegetables. I made it first for Sara’s birthday to go along with lasagna, and I think the veggies got as many compliments at the lasagna. All that’s involved is chopping and 2 stirs.

Balsamic Glazed Vegetables – modified from Epicurious

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 zucchini, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• 2 yellow summer squash, trimmed, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
• bag of baby carrots, cut diagonally
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Directions:

1. Mix everything together in a large roasting pan.
2. Roast for 20 minutes (longer if you have a lot of vegetables) at 350°. Strirring a couple times.

This elegant and delectable rack of lamb is extremely simple to prepare. Tender and juicy lamb is surrounded by a crispy and tasty crust of Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs.

Rack of Lamb Encrusted with Parmesan Cheese – Every Night Italian

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Ingredients:

• 2 Frenched racks of lamb (~3 pounds)
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 1 tablespoon plain fine dry bread crumbs

Directions:

1. Place the racks of lamb in a baking dish, pour the olive oil over them, and spread it over the lamb with your fingers. Season with salt and pepper, then sprinkle with the rosemary.
2. Put the lamb in the upper level of the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes for medium rare
3. Mix the Parmigiano-Reggiano and bread crumbs together on a plate large enough to accommodate the racks of lamb.
4. When you have taken the meat out of the oven, raise the heat to 450°F. Grasp one lamb rack by the ribs with a pot holder, place it on the bread crumb and cheese mixture, and turn to coat it on all sides. Put the lamb back in the baking pan and repeat with the second rack. Sprinkle any remaining bread crumb and cheese mixture over the racks. Return the pan to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
5. Take the lamb out of the oven, cut the racks into individual chops, and serve at once.

Serves 4 people

Another recipe from my childhood…

Mom’s Lasagna

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Lasagna noodles
• 15 oz container of Ricotta cheese
• 2 beaten eggs
• 3 tbsp fresh parsley
• couple cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
• large ball of mozzarella (grated)
• 2 jars of Newman’s sauce
• 1 lb of lean ground beef (drained)
• salt, pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic to taste

Directions:

1. Cook Lasagna noodles, drain in cold water
2. Mix together Ricotta cheese, 2 beaten eggs, parsley, garlic, Parmesan cheese
3. Grate the large ball of mozzarella cheese
4. Add the red sauce to the ground beef and spice it up to your taste buds.

1. Put a little sauce in the bottom of a casserole. Place a layer of noodles on the sauce. Spread a layer (about 1/3 – 1/2 depending how deep your casserole is) of the ricotta mixture on the noodles. Sprinkle grated mozzarella on the ricotta layer. Add a layer of sauce and repeat until you end up with noodles on the top. Then put the remaining sauce over the top noodles, and sprinkle on some remaining grated mozzarella cheese and a little Parmesan cheese.

1. Bake for about 1 hour or until bubbly. (Mom’s note: “I usually cover the casserole for the first 40 minutes with foil and then remove for the last part of the cooking.”)

Butter, sugar, apples, and flaky pastry create sinful bliss. Be sure to line your springform pan with foil to catch the drips! While it’s baking, go run 5 miles, this isn’t on the Jenny Craig menu.

Tarte Tatin

Preheat oven to 350°F

Prep Time: 20 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch single crust pie
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 apples – peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

Directions

1. Line the outside of a 9 inch springform pan with foil to catch drips.
2. Spread butter evenly into a 9 inch springform pan. Sprinkle with sugar. Arrange apple slices into an overlapping pattern over sugar layer. Cover apples with pastry, trimming sides if necessary. Place pan on a baking sheet.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour, until pastry is golden brown. Allow to cool slightly, then release sides of pan. Place a large plate over pastry, then invert so apple layer is on top. Remove bottom of pan and serve.