Tuesday Recipes

Enjoy!

FRESH BERRY SHORTCAKE WITH VANILLA WHIPPED CREAM

This comes from Seattle's Macrina Bakery. If I ever have a chance to go on a road trip, this is one place I want to check out! Their Recipe of the Month emails offer up some delicious recipes. If you haven't signed up for their emails, I highly recommend doing so. I'll wait. (Foot tapping...Yes, I'll wait!)

This recipe begins, “Growing up in Portland, a favorite summer treat that my mother made was fresh strawberry shortcake with vanilla whipped cream. We would drive north of the city to large fields of fragrant bright red strawberries and buy flats of the fruit at roadside stands. This recipe can be made with berries and seasonal fruit like apricots, figs or nectarines. However, at least one type of berry must be combined with sugar to create a delicious sauce for soaking the biscuit. The sauce is key to great shortcake!” Makes 4 generous servings.

Ingredients

Berry Compote:

1 4-pack Macrina shortcake biscuits*

1 pint fresh strawberries

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 cup fresh blackberries or other seasonal fruit

1/2 cup sugar (depends on ripeness of fruit)

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon vanilla

1 4 cup water

Whipped Cream:

3/4 cup whipping cream

1 tablespoon sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Garnish:

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

*Available in Macrina's cafes. Also, if that's absolutely, impossible, try your favorite shortcake biscuits.

Preparation

De-stem and slice the strawberries.

Add half of the strawberries, all the blueberries, sugar, vanilla and water to a pan. Bring mixture to a simmer to release more juice. Add the remaining fruit and warm through. The gruit compote needs to be saucy. Set mixture aside.

Cut each biscuit in half horizontally. Reheat in the oven for 5 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Whip the whipping cream, sugars and vanilla until soft peaks form. Taste for sweetness.

Place a biscuit on each plate, lift off the top and set to the side. Spoon a generous 1/2 cup of warm fruit mixture over the biscuit bottoms saturating as best as possible. Add a generous dollop of sweetened whipped cream and top with the other half of the biscuit. Dust with powdered sugar for garnish.

Note: This recipe can also be made with frozen fruit if fresh is not available.

WHITE BEAN DIP WITH PITA CHIPS

This comes from Diada De Laurentiis, The Food Network's Everyday Italian. Total Time: 27 min; Prep: 15 min; Cook: 12 min; Yield: 6 servings; Level: Easy

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/white-bean-dip-with-pita-chips-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/3 cup olive oil, plus 4 tablespoons

1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

6 pitas

1 teaspoon dried oregano

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the beans, garlic, lemon juice, 1/3 cup olive oil, and parsley in the work bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is coarsely chopped. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Transfer the bean puree to a small bowl.

Cut each pita in half and then into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges on a large baking sheet. Pour the remaining oil over the pitas. Toss and spread out the wedges evenly. Sprinkle with the oregano, salt, and pepper. Bake for 8 to 12 minutes, or until toasted and golden in color.

Serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside the bean puree.

CARIBBEAN MARINADE

This comes from page 21 of the June 2015 issue of Taste For Life, a magazine I picked up from Rollin' Oats Market & Cafe in St. Pete, Florida. Prep Time: 10 minutes; Makes approximately 3/4 cup

2/3 cup pineapple juice

3 cloves garlic

3 Tbsp oil

2 Tbsp white vinegar

2 tsp ground tumeric

1 tsp ground coriander

3/4 tsp ground cardamon

1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

Add all ingredients to a food processor fitted with a metal blad or a high speed blender. Process until well blended.

Pour marinade over uncooked fish or chicken in a shallow glass dish. Turn to coat.

Refrigerate for no more than 1 hour if marinating fish, and no more than 12 hours if marinating chicken.

ASPARAGUS WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Yield: 6 servings

Source: 1,001 Delicious Recipes for People with Diabetes

View Recipe: http://diabeticgourmet.com/recipes/html/567.shtml

Ingredients

2 tablespoons reduced-fat peanut butter

1/4 cup sugar

2-3 tablespoons reduced-sodium tamari soy sauce

3-4 teaspoons rice wine (sake) or dry sherry

1 teaspoon grated gingerroot

1/2 pounds asparagus spears, cooked until crisp-tender, chilled

Directions

Mix peanut butter, sugar, soy sauce, rice wine, and gingerroot until smooth.

Arrange asparagus on serving platter, spoon peanut sauce over.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 95; Protein: 5 g; Fat: 2.3 g; Sodium: 246 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Carbohydrates: 15 g; Exchanges: 3 Vegetable, 1/2 Fat

CAPELLINI WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL

This comes from Ina Garten of The Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. Yield: 6 servings; Level: 6

Read more at: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/capellini-with-tomatoes-and-basil-recipe.print.html?oc=linkback

Ingredients

Kosher salt

1/2 cup good olive oil, plus extra for the pot

2 tablespoons minced garlic (6 cloves)

4 pints small cherry tomatoes or grape tomatoes

18 large basil leaves, julienned

2 tablespoons chopped fresh curly parsley

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

3/4 pound dried capellini or angel hair pasta

1 1/2 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Extra chopped basil and grated Parmesan, for serving

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add 2 tablespoons of salt and a splash of oil to the pot.

Meanwhile, heat the 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan. Add the garlic to the oil and cook over medium heat for 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes, basil, parsley, thyme, 2 teaspoons salt, the pepper, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, tossing occasionally, until the tomatoes begin to soften but don't break up.

While the tomatoes are cooking, add the capellini to the pot of boiling water and cook for 2 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain the pasta, reserving some of the pasta water.

Place the pasta in a large serving bowl, add the tomatoes and Parmesan and toss well. Add some of the pasta water if the pasta seems too dry. Serve large bowls of pasta with extra basil sprinkled on top and a big bowl of extra Parmesan on the side.

RATATOUILLE TART

This comes from FamilyTime.com, and begins, "This savory puff pastry tart is filled with eggplant, zucchini and peppers topped with a beautiful arrangement of sliced tomatoes, and zucchini. It sounds like a lot of work, but it takes less than an hour to put together." Serves: 8 servings; PrepTime: 50 minutes; Cook Time: 75 minutes

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1/2 of a 17.3-ounce package Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Sheets, (1 sheet), thawed

5 tablespoons olive oil

1 large eggplant, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 10 cups)

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium zucchini, peeled and diced (about 4 1/2 cups)

1 medium green pepper, diced (about 1 cup)

1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves, crushed

ground black pepper

garlic powder

2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

6 small Italian plum tomato, sliced

2 medium zucchini, sliced (about 3 cups)

1 tablespoon dry bread crumbs

Directions

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the eggplant, onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the zucchini and green pepper. Cook until the vegetables are tender. Season with the oregano, black pepper and garlic powder.

Stir the tomato sauce, tomato paste and vinegar in the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes.

Unfold the pastry sheet on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry sheet into a 12-inch square. Cut off the corners to make a circle. Press the pastry into the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim off the excess pastry. Prick the pastry thoroughly with a fork. Place a piece of aluminum foil onto the pastry. Add pie weights or dried beans. Bake for 15 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Remove the foil and weights. Let the pastry cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Spoon the eggplant mixture into the crust. Arrange the tomatoes and zucchini in concentric circles to completely cover the eggplant mixture. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs.

Bake for 1 hour or until the zucchini and tomatoes are browned.

Ratatouille-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms: Omit the puff pastry. Prepare the eggplant filling as directed above. Cook 5 to 6 portobello mushrooms top-side down in 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over and cook about 5 minutes more or until tender. Divide the eggplant mixture among the mushrooms. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley.