Weekend Food

Finally, Friday and the weekend! Here are a few recipes to help you with your weekend. Enjoy!

FONTINA & DELICATA SQUASH STRATA

This comes from Seattle's Macrina Bakery. It starts off, “Almost a cross between savory bread pudding and frittata, strata is always a crowd-pleaser. Layered with roasted squash, creamy Fontina, fresh herbs and toasted bits of sourdough bread, this dish makes a delicious addition to any breakfast or brunch gathering. Serve it alongside breakfast sausage and fresh seasonal fruit for a meal that's sure to hit the spot.” Serves 4

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

For the Strata:

1 medium Delicata squash

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

*1/2 loaf (8 ounces) day-old Macrina Bakery bread

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

5 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

1 tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped

1 cup whole milk 1 cup half-and-half

2 large whole eggs

2 large egg yolks

*Preferably white bread, like our Macrina Casera.

For the Buerre Blanc Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 tablespoons shallots, finely diced

1 cup white wine

1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

Preparing the Strata:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper and set aside. Butter a 9-inch Pyrex or ceramic baking dish and set aside.

Wash, peel and seed the squash, then slice it into 1/2-inch half-moons. Place the squash and olive oil in a medium bowl and toss to combine. Spread the squash in a single layer on one of the baking sheets and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Roast the squash in the oven for 25 minutes or until slightly soft to the touch and golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Remove the crust from the bread and cut into 3/4-inch cubes. Place 6 ounces, or 4 cups, of the cubes into a medium bowl. In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons of butter and add the garlic. Cook over medium heat until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Add the butter and garlic to the bread cubes and toss to thoroughly combine. Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on the second baking sheet and toast in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes. Once cooled, place in a medium bowl.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the milk and half-and-half for about 2 minutes. Pour the milk mixture over the toasted bread and toss with a spoon to coat. Let cool for 10 minutes. Place the eggs and yolks in a medium bowl and whisk to combine well. Add to the soaked bread along with the squash, parsley, thyme, remaining salt and Fontina. Gently mix to combine the ingredients. Loosely place the mixture in the baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.

Reduce oven temperature to 325° and place dish on the center rack. Bake for 45 minutes, then check to see if the custard has set. If it has set, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes to crisp and caramelize the top.

Preparing the Buerre Blanc Sauce:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the shallots are translucent. Add the wine and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cook down to 1/2 the volume and then turn the heat down to low. Begin gradually adding small amounts of butter, whisking constantly to blend into the oil, until all the butter is added and dissolved and the sauce has thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serving:

Serve the strata ladled with sauce alongside pan-roasted or grilled sausage.

FRIDGE-CLEARING LENTIL SOUP

This recipe come from Sara Kate Gillingham of TheKitchn newsletter. I absolutely love this newsletter, as well as its brother site, Apartment Therapy. If you haven't signed up for these newsletters, I highly recommend both.

Sara writes the following for this recipe: “The fridge-clearing soup is a staple at my house. In fact, fridge-clearing in general is a good way to characterize my cooking style. But there is something about a sack of lentils that brings out the best of vegetables that have seen better days.”

To view this online (and to see what else Sara writes about this recipe), click here. Serves 10 to 12.

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion (of any color), chopped

5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric

1/4 pound chopped bacon, pancetta or ham, optional

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2-inch to 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced

1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, optional

2 bay leaves

2 cups dried green lentils, picked over and rinsed

4 to 6 cups chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes

4 cups chopped vegetables (cauliflower, carrots, broccoli, leafy greens, etc.)

1 to 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

Toppings:


Yogurt, sour cream or crème fraîche


Chopped herbs

Chopped onion

In a large soup pot (6-quart or larger), heat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the onion 1 to 2 minutes until softened, then add the garlic, cumin and tumeric. Stir to coat. Add the bacon. Add a teaspoon or so of salt and a few cranks of pepper. Cook until bacon browns a bit, another minute or so. Add the ginger, red pepper flakes (if using), bay leaves, and lentils. Pour over enough stock to cover. Raise the heat to bring to a boil, then lower to medium-low heat, cover the pot, and simmer.

If using tomatoes or hard vegetables, like carrots, add them after 15 minutes. If adding medium-hard vegetables like cauliflower or summer squash, add after 20 minutes. If adding leafy greens, add them when lentils are almost cooked through.

Cook a total of 30 to 40 minutes, checking every 10 minutes to stir the pot. Soup is done when lentils and vegetables are tender, but not falling apart. If soup needs more liquid at any time, stir in a cup or two. (It should look like thick soup, but not like thick chili.) When everything is cooked through, add the vinegar and taste for seasoning, adjusting as needed. Pull out the bay leaves and discard.

For a smoother soup, blend some or all of it in a blender or with an immersion blender. (Be careful blending when the soup is hot; blend in small batches.) Return the blended soup to the pot and stir. After blending, it may need more liquid. It also will probably need more liquid after cooling and reheated as leftovers.

Garnish with a dollop of yogurt, chopped onion and/or herbs.

ANYTIME BLACK FOREST BLIZZARD

This was also in the September 2012 issue of Runner’s World, page 50. Contributing chef Pam Anderson comes up with quite a few really yummy recipes. This recipe starts off, “Plain Greek yogurt has roughly twice the protein and half the sugar of plan traditional yogurt. Cherries contain antioxidants that help reduce postrun inflammation. ‘To add crunch, stir in Famous Chocolate Wafers,’ says Anderson.”

I doubt that Pam is reading this, but if she is, all I can say is: Keep it up, please!

1 heaping cup frozen, dark sweet cherries

1 frozen banana, cut into chunks

1 C chocolate soymilk

1/4 C Greek yogurt

2 tsp honey or agave syrup

1/4 tsp almond extract

4 Famous Chocolate Wafers, crumbled

Place all the ingredients – except the Famous Chocolate Wafers – in a blender; process until creamy smooth. Divide between two glasses. Top each with a portion of crumbled Famous Chocolate Wafers. Serves two.

Calories per serving: 273; Carbs: 54 g; Fiber: 4 g; Protein: 7 g; Fat: 4 g

LITHUANIAN APPLE CAKE

This comes from Brett Moore, About.com's Gourmet Food's guide. He writes, “The apple cake recipe is simple to throw together at a moments notice but wonderfully delicious. A spongy light cake stuffed with tons of spiced apples! Decorate with dried apples and serve with vanilla ice cream for a fancy end to your dinner or leave plain and enjoy for breakfast with a cup of coffee.”

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

Apples

5 medium apples, peeled and sliced

2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons of sugar

Batter

4 large eggs

1 cup of vegetable oil/melted margarine

1/4 cup of orange juice

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

3 cups of sifted flour

2 cups of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

3 tablespoons of baking powder

Powdered sugar

Dried apple slices (optional)

Prep Time: 10 minutes; Cook Time: 60 minutes; Total Time: 70 minutes; Yield: Makes 1 9-inch cake

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix apples with cinnamon and sugar and let stand in bowl.

In another large bowl, mix together all batter ingredients except the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Butter and flour the cake pan (use a springform pan, deep 8-inch pan or a regular 9- by 13-inch pan). Pour half of the batter in the pan and arrange half of the apple slices on top of the batter. Pour the rest of the batter and arrange the remaining apple slices on top.

Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

If you like, decorate the top of the cake with dried apple slices. Dust with powdered sugar and serve warm. Vanilla ice cream is a wonderful partner.

THREE-BEAN SOUP

This is one of my favorite quick meals that I usually only fix on weekends, especially if it happens to be cold and/or rainy. It’s from the November/December 2005 issue of Vegetarian Times, page 37, in that issue’s “30 Minutes; Quick, Fast Food” section. This vegan recipe serves 6, and starts off, “Here’s a straight-from-the-pantry soup that’ll become a weeknight favorite. (Or, in my case, weekend favorite.) Pureeing one of the cans of beans creates a creamy base without adding extra fat or cholesterol. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese and serve with vegetable chips, if desired.”

2 Tbs. vegetable oil

1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)

1 15.5-oz. can navy beans, drained and rinsed

1 15.5-oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

6 cloves garlic, minced (about 2 Tbs.)

2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth or water

1 15.5-oz. can great Northern beans, drained and rinsed

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Saute onion 2 to 3 minutes, or until soft. Add navy beans, black beans and garlic, and continue cooking and stirring 8 to 10 minutes more. Stir in 1 cup broth.

Meanwhile, put great Northern beans and remaining 1 cup broth into food processor or blender, and puree until smooth. Pour puree into soup. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Thin with more broth or water, if desired.

Spoon into individual soup bowls, and serve hot.

Per serving: 231 calories; 13 g protein; 5 g total fat (0 g saturated fat); 39 g carbs; 0 mg cholesterol; 557 mg sodium; 11 g fiber; 5 g sugars

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

This comes from G.E. Appliances. Yields 12 muffins.

Ingredients

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, chopped

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Grease or spray a standard sized muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Cream butter and sugars with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in egg. Add pumpkin and nuts.

Mix dry ingredients together well and add to pumpkin mixture in thirds, alternating with milk. Blend just enough to mix ingredients.

Spoon into prepared muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes.