Smoked Salt & Pepper

I found this recipe through Food and Wine magazine and the other night I had my future parent-in-laws over for dinner and it was a success. Served it with seared sea scallops and roasted Brussels sprouts and it was quite yummy! I made it again for Thanksgiving and it was just as good. I use 5 minute quick cooking polenta to cut down on the time. Ingredients One 2-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded and sliced 1 inch thick 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the pan 1/3 cup pine nuts 1 large onion, finely chopped 1/2 teaspoon dried sage, crumbled Salt and freshly ground pepper 6 cups water 2 cups wick cook polenta Unsalted butter 4 ounces smoked Gouda, shredded (1 cup) 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese Directions: Preheat the oven to 375°. Arrange the squash on a large oiled baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes, until tender. Transfer the squash to a bowl and mash coarsely. (You should have about 1 1/2 cups.) Spread the pine nuts on a ...

Scallops are so quick to cook up,I thought this would be a great after work meal to whip up. Turned out great! Recipe from epicurious. Ingredients 3 8-ounce bottles clam juice 1 cup low-salt chicken broth 3 tablespoons olive oil 6 uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined, diced 1/4 cup chopped onion 1 garlic clove, minced 1 cup arborio rice 1/4 cup dry white wine 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 6 large sea scallops Truffle oil* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives Bring clam juice and broth to simmer in medium saucepan. Reduce heat to low; cover to keep warm. Heat olive oil in heavy medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add shrimp; sauté 1 minute. Using slotted spoon, transfer to bowl. Add onion to pan; sauté until translucent, about 1 minute. Add garlic; sauté 15 seconds. Add rice; stir 1 minute. Add wine; simmer until absorbed, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup clam juice mixture to rice; simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring often. Continue a...

Bo luc lac, or shaking beef, is a yummy and simple Vietnamese dish. Cubes of marinated steak are shaken while cooked, which is where the name comes from. It's served on a bed of watercress, tomatoes, and pickled red onions with a sour vinaigrette. The recipe I used here is adapted from The Ravenous Couple food blog: http://www.theravenouscouple.com/2009/08/bo-luc-lac-vietnamese-shaking-beef.html Ingredients: Beef Marinade 1.5 lbs beef sirloin cut into 1″ cubes 1 tbs minced garlic 1.5 tbs sugar 2 tbs oyster sauce 1 tbs fish sauce 1 tbs sesame oil 1 tsp soy sauce Vinaigrette 1/2 cup rice vinegar 1.5 tbs sugar 1/2 tbs salt Dipping Sauce Juice of 1 lime 1/2 ts kosher salt 1/2 ts fresh cracked pepper 1 red onion, thinly sliced 2 bunches of watercress, long stems trimmed 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced Cooking oil for frying Directions: Prepare marinade by combining garlic, oyster sauce, sugar, fish sauce, thick soy sauce and sesame oil with the beef for at least h...

This month's Real Simple magazine had a spread on 20 minute dinners and since I'm pretty busy with work, I thought I'd try some of the recipes out. This one was really yummy and super quick and simple! Ingredients: 2 tbs olive oil 4 5-to-7- inch flat breads, naan bread or pocketless pittas (I used naan) 1/2 c marinara sauce 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced 2 oz sliced salami, cut into bite-size pieces 1 lg bell pepper, thinly sliced 1 cup baby arugula -Heat oven to 450*F. Brush 2 rimmed baking sheets with oil and place 2 flat breads on each. Dividing evenly, top with marina sauce, mozzarella, salami, and bell pepper. Season with 1/4 tap each salt and pepper -Bake the pizzas, rotating the sheets halfway through, until the cheese is melted and the flat breads are golden, 8-10 min. Top with arugula.

The chain French restaurant La Madeline has a delicious tomato basil soup. It's just pure yummy. I have a recipe that came from a cookbook my friend's parents put together. They got the recipe when it was printed in the Houston newspaper and it is delicious! Plus it's super easy! Made it tonight. It's great with a nice crusty bread. Ingredients: -Tomatoes, 4 cups (8-10), peeled, cored, and chopped [or 4 cups canned whole tomatoes] -Tomato juice, 4 cups [or a mixture of tomato juice and vegetable or chicken broth] -basil leaves, 12-14, + additional for garnish -whipping cream, 1 cup -unsalted butter, 1/4 cup -cracked black pepper, 1/4 tsp -salt and pepper to taste 1. Simmer tomatoes and juice over medium low heat for 30 minutes 2. Cool slightly, then add basil and purée in a food processor or blender 3. Return to sauce pan. Add cream and butter 4. Stir over low heat until they are blended well 5. Add salt and pepper 6. Serve garnished with basil (optional...

My fiancé and I were hanging out at our friends pool when we walked by a party grilling tandoori chicken. It smelled so good and we instantly had a craving for it. Later that week, I tried a recipe to make some at home. The recipe is from Epicurious. It was very good and pretty easy. Reid loved the spiciness of it (I added a lot of cayenne to the yogurt sauce). Tandoori chicken is traditionally cooked in a clay oven, a tandoor. In this version the chicken is broiled. Tandoori chicken Ingredients: For spice paste: 1 large garlic clove 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt 1 small fresh red or green chile 1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt 1 tbs fresh lemon juice 2 tsp fresh grated ginger 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander 3/4 tsp turmeric 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp black pepper 1/4 tsp nutmeg 1/8 tsp ground clove 4 skinless boneless chicken breasts 1 small red onion, thinly sliced 2 tsp vegetable oil For yogurt sauce 1/2 cup low fat yogurt 1 tsp fresh yogurt Pinch cayenne Preparation:...

The kale salad from the salad bar at Whole Foods is delicious. My fiancé introduced it to me and a few friends and it is amazing! The dressing is sweet and a little citrusy and perfectly compliments the fresh, slightly bitter taste of kale. It's one of those dishes you don't feel guilty about when you eat a giant portion of it. But it, like everything at WH, can be pricey if you're hooked on it. I tried to look up a copy cat recipe online but wasn't very satisfied with the results. So, I did some investigating (IE reading the ingredients label at the salad bar) and came up with something pretty close. Whole Foods Kale Salad Ingredients: 1 bunch kale, washed, de-stemmed, and torn into bite-sized pieces 1 c. dried cranberries 1 c. sliced blanched almonds (the Whole Foods version also has dried apples, but the chewy texture kind of throws me off so I keep it out of mine) Dressing 1/3 c orange juice 3 tbs white balsamic vinegar 1/4 c olive oil 1 tbs honey ...