Barefoot Bloggers: Greek Panzanella

Do you need a quick and easy salad to serve with dinner or bring to a bbq? This recipe was really quick to pull together and received rave reviews. I bet it would even make an incredible bruschetta. The only change I made to the recipe was that I toasted the bread cubes in the oven instead of on the stove... it was just easier for me at the time.

I served this with a grilled greek chicken (need to make again, the grill wasn't cooperating), rice pilaf and an incredible dessert that may be posted on Monday so stay tuned.

Greek Panzanella
Ina Garten

Good olive oil
1 small French bread or boule, cut into 1-inch cubes (6 cups)
Kosher salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4-inch thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 pound feta cheese, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup calamata olives, pitted
For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup good red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup good olive oil

Directions

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently, for 5 to 10 minutes, until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed. I toasted the bread crumbs in the oven... seemed a lot easier to me!

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.

For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives and bread cubes and mix together lightly. Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend. Serve at room temperature.

Building a Nest: Roasted Eggplant Dip

I know people can be stumped at ways to use eggplant... I've used it in eggplant parm, roasted for orzo salad and pizza. I haven't made baba ganoush but I plan to soon as I really enjoy eggplant. This recipe is yet another Ina Garten recipe winner. My family absolutely loves this recipe. It's versatile and easy to prepare. If I have extra, I toss it in with pasta or cook it with chicken. It's really delicious!

Roasted Eggplant Dip
Adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients


1 medium eggplant
2 red bell peppers, seeded
1 red onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, minced (I used 3)
3 tablespoons good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or more)
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes


Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the eggplant, bell pepper, and onion into 1-inch cubes. Toss them in a large bowl with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Spread them on a baking sheet. Roast for 45 minutes, until the vegetables are lightly browned and soft, tossing once during cooking.

Cool completely (placing hot items in the food processor is not recommended due to BPA chemicals in the food processor bowl).

Place the vegetables in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar and red pepper flakes, and pulse 3 or 4 times to blend. Taste for salt and pepper.

Building a Nest: Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay

One of my families favorite dishes is Ina's Grilled Lemon Chicken and Peanut Satay. I chose to use it at the baby shower because I could prepare the sauce ahead of time and the chicken has very little prep time. We grilled the chicken a few hours before the party-- it can be served cold and is still delicious. Needless to say, this recipe is a hit. The ladies at the shower loved it and I heard a few of them profess their love to the satay!

I'd definitely recommend this recipe for a nice summer meal, a party or anytime throughout the year. If you haven't tried it before, add it to your menu for this 4th of July!

Grilled Lemon Chicken with Peanut Satay
Ina Garten

3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (4 lemons)
3/4 cup good olive oil
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves, or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme (I forgot this)
2 pounds boneless chicken breasts, halved and skin removed
Satay Dip, recipe follows

Directions

Whisk together the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, and thyme. Pour over the chicken breasts in a nonreactive bowl. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or overnight.

Heat a charcoal grill. Grill the chicken breasts for 10 minutes on each side, until just cooked through. Cool slightly and cut diagonally in 1/2-inch-thick slices. Skewer with wooden sticks and serve with Satay Dip. (The chicken breasts I used were really thin so skewering didn't happen).

Satay Dip:
1 tablespoon good olive oil
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
2/3 cup small-diced red onion (1 small onion)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons good red wine vinegar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lime juice

Cook the olive oil, sesame oil, red onion, garlic, ginger root, and red pepper flakes in a small, heavy-bottomed pot on medium heat until the onion is transparent, 10 to 15 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, peanut butter, ketchup, sherry, and lime juice; cook for 1 more minute. Cool and use as a dip for Grilled Lemon Chicken skewers.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups





Sorry for the blurry photo!

Grilled Vegetables and Orzo Salad

Every day over the next few weeks, Foodbuzz is posting about their daily special. Today's special features grill baskets & trays. We absolutely love ours and use it quite frequently. Since Danimal is home this week and he loves to use his grill whenever he has the chance, I decided we should use our grill tray to grill an assortment of veggies to go with dinner. I bought a ton of different vegetables at the market but I couldn't use them all since we would be grilling vegetables all night...  so it looks like we'll be having asparagus and squash later this week! I've made a dish similar to this one from Ina Garten but the vegetables were roasted (instead of grilled).


Grilled Vegetables & Orzo Salad
1 box orzo, cooked per directions
4-5 garlic cloves (chop a few, leave a few whole)
1 eggplant, sliced inch thick & quartered
1 red pepper, cut inch 1 inch cubes
1 yellow pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 onion, sliced into half rounds-- or cubed if you'd like
2 portobello mushrooms, cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil (for tossing vegetables & orzo)
salt & pepper to taste
red pepper flakes
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
juice from 1 lemon

Cook orzo per directions, drain and toss with a spray of olive oil. Prepare vegetables as stated above

Combine vegetables (garlic thru mushrooms) in a large bowl, toss with olive oil salt & pepper.

Preheat the grill. Place grill basket on the grill to preheat it then spray with olive oil spray. Add vegetables and place basket back on grill. Let the grill cook the vegetables, shaking the basket every couple of minutes to rotate the vegetables. It took us about 10 minutes to cook a batch of vegetables.

After all the vegetables are cooked, combine with orzo, lemon juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar & red pepper flakes. Toss to combine.

Ricotta is better with fat in it

I've been super MIA lately! We were on vacation last week and I've been pretty busy. I just finished the Wilton Cake Decorating Course 1. I'll post about that later! I also haven't been cooking/baking a ton lately because Danimal's been traveling for work a lot.

A few weekends ago we had Danimal's best friend Matt and his fiance over for dinner and a game of Seinfeld Scene-It. As you can tell, I'm a fan of Ina Garten recipes. The few times I've made lasagna, I've used recipe from Cooking Light... I like it, but I don't love it. Ina Garten's recipe has great flavor! I think the difference is that I used real ricotta cheese instead of fat-free... major difference in the richness obviously!

Turkey Lasagna
adapted from Ina Garten

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion (1 onion)
2 garlic cloves, minced (I think I used 4)
1 1/2 pounds sweet Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, divided
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound lasagna noodles (1 package whole wheat lasagna noodles)
15 ounces ricotta cheese
3 to 4 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan, plus 1/4 cup for sprinkling
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
1 pound fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
2 packages frozen chopped spinach (or fresh!), thawed & water squeezed out

Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Heat the olive oil in a large (10 to 12-inch) skillet. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium-low heat, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the sausage and cook over medium-low heat, breaking it up with a fork, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste, 2 tablespoons of the parsley, the basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Simmer, uncovered, over medium-low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes, until thickened.

Meanwhile, fill a large bowl with the hottest tap water. Add the noodles and allow them to sit in the water for 20 minutes. Drain.  Fully cook noodles according to package directions.

In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, goat cheese, spinach, 1 cup of Parmesan, the egg, the remaining 2 tablespoons of parsley, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Ladle 1/3 of the sauce into a 9 by 12 by 2-inch rectangular baking dish, spreading the sauce over the bottom of the dish. Then add the layers as follows: half the pasta, half the mozzarella, half the ricotta, and one 1/3 of the sauce. Add the rest of the pasta, mozzarella, ricotta, and finally, sauce. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup of Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling.

Barefoot Bloggers: Baked Shrimp Scampi

For my second recipe with the Barefoot Bloggers, Jill from Insanely Good Food chose Ina's Baked Shrimp Scampi. It's really easy to toss together and tastes amazing! Danimal said "This recipe is a 'make again'"! I served it with roasted asparagus (tossed with olive oil, garlic, salt & pepper), brown rice and a baguette. I didn't love the panko/ herb/ butter topping and just ate the shrimp without it-- I felt the shrimp absorbed enough of the flavor. I halved the recipe (and cut back on the butter) since it was only the two of us.


Baked Shrimp Scampi
Ina Garten; Back to Basics

Ingredients
2 pounds (12 to 15 per pound) shrimp in the shell
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons dry white wine
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
4 teaspoons minced garlic (4 cloves)
1/4 cup minced shallots
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 extra-large egg yolk
2/3 cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. If you don't know how to butterfly a shrimp, Ina has a video here. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 14-inch oval gratin dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish. Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp. Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute. Serve with lemon wedges.

Barefoot Bloggers: Coconut Cupcakes

Through the food blogging world, I stumbled upon a group of bloggers who create and blog about Ina Garten's recipes called Barefoot Bloggers. Ina's recipes rarely fail me so I was excited to join this group. People choose recipes and post twice a month. This month, Jaime from Jamie’s Green Kitchen chose Coconut Cupcakes.

I'm not a coconut fan myself but Danimal is... he was really excited to see the bag of shredded coconut in my shopping bag. I wasn't really sure how to change this recipe as I don't like coconut. The only change I made was I made half the amount of frosting as the reviews said that the full amount was too much. The frosting seemed a bit more runny than I expected-- I think I added too much sugar. I don't have a scale at home so I guestimated and I think I really overshot the amount. Oh well!

I haven't had any guinea pigs yet as Danimal is still traveling. We're leaving on a ski trip tonight so they'll be traveling with us. I'll report back later on and let you know how they taste! The recipe says it makes 18-20, I ended up with 24 large cupcakes... I'd make them smaller next time and have even more!

Coconut Cupcakes
Ina Garten

3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons pure almond extract
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
14 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut - divided

For the frosting: (This is the full amount, I made half of this)
1 pound cream cheese at room temperature
3/4 pound (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
1 1/2 pounds confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In 3 parts, alternately add the dry ingredients and the buttermilk to the batter, beginning and ending with the dry. Mix until just combined. Fold in 7 ounces of coconut.

Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Fill each liner to the top with batter. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until the tops are brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove to a baking rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile, make the frosting. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, on low speed, cream together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla and almond extracts. Add the confectioners' sugar and mix until smooth.

Frost the cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining coconut.

A Roasted Dinner

The dinner that accompanied the focaccia bread was filled with the word "roasted"... Parmesan Roasted Broccoli, Mustard Roasted Potatoes and Everyday Garlic Chicken (which was roasted...). I think I've mentioned the Parmesan Roasted Broccoli before (around Thanksgiving) but I don't think I've ever blogged the recipe... this time I didn't even take pictures of it (picture that is posted was from Thanksgiving). This is my to-go broccoli recipe- has yet to fail me. The potato recipe is very good as well... Danimal and I tend to just roast potatoes with garlic & olive oil so this is a nice change for us.

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
Ina Garten

Ingredients
4 to 5 pounds broccoli
4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
Good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons julienned fresh basil leaves (about 12 leaves)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Cut the larger pieces through the base of the head with a small knife, pulling the florets apart. You should have about 8 cups of florets. Place the broccoli florets on a sheet pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Toss the garlic on the broccoli and drizzle with 5 tablespoons olive oil. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until crisp-tender and the tips of some of the florets are browned.

Remove the broccoli from the oven and immediately toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, pine nuts, Parmesan, and basil. Serve hot. Serves 6.





Mustard Roasted Potatoes
Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home

Ingredients
2 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
2 yellow onions
3 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line cookie sheet with tin foil.

Wash potatoes, cut them in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Place them on the cookie sheet. Peel onions, cut them in half and slice into rounds (about 1/4 inch thick). Toss onions and potatoes together on the sheet. Add olive oil, mustard, salt & pepper and toss to cover evenly.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until the potatoes are lightly browned. Toss the potatoes every 15 minutes so they brown evenly.

Serve with chopped parsley and a little extra salt.



Stay tuned next week for Everday Garlic Chicken!

Roasted Vegetables Rock

Christmas Day is spent at Danimal's aunt & uncle's house. I woke up (not early... but early for my in-laws!) and made this fresh for the day... before presents and breakfast! I really love this dish and could make it every week and not get sick of it! It's so easy to prepare and pretty to serve.

Orzo with Roasted Vegetable
adapted from Ina Garten

Ingredients1 small eggplant, 3/4-inch diced
1 red bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 yellow bell pepper, 1-inch diced
1 red onion, peeled and 1-inch diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
plus additional veggies as desired
1/3 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound orzo or rice-shaped pasta

For the dressing:
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 cup good olive oil (I use less)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

To assemble:

4 scallions, minced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup pignolis (pine nuts), toasted
3/4 pound good feta, 1/2-inch diced (not crumbled)
15 fresh basil leaves, cut into julienne

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Toss the eggplant, bell peppers, onion, and garlic (and whatever other veggies you want) with the olive oil, salt, and pepper on a large sheet pan. Roast for 40 minutes, until browned, turning once with a spatula.

Meanwhile, cook the orzo in boiling salted water for 7 to 9 minutes, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large serving bowl. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta, scraping all the liquid and seasonings from the roasting pan into the pasta bowl.


For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and pour on the pasta and vegetables. Let cool to room temperature, then add the scallions, pignolis, feta, and basil. Check the seasonings, and serve at room temperature.

I tend to double-triple this recipe because it's so good. This last time, I used 2 eggplant, 3 red peppers, 3 yellow peppers, 2 onions, a lot of garlic, 1 green pepper, 1 container crimini mushrooms (quartered), and 1/2 butternut squash (cubed). I don't tend to add feta but LOVE the pine nuts so I used a whole bag (probably 1 lb). I don't measure the lemon juice that I add but I do cut back on the oil (probably 1/4 cup vs 1/3 cup).