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Month: December 2009

Goat Cheese, Pesto & Sun-Dried Tomato Terrine

yholmes 1 Comment

This is a staple at most of my shindigs. You can make it a day ahead and it is such a beautiful presentation. If you aren’t a fan of goat cheese then just use cream cheese. When processing the sun-dried tomatoes it is much easier to cut them up before adding to the food processor.

Serve with crostini and crackers.

Photo source: finecooking.com

INGREDIENTS

  • 16 oz. cream cheese
  • 4 oz. goat cheese
  • 1/4 to 1/2 cup milk or half & half
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ cup basil pesto (homemade or store-bought)
  • ½ cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained & chopped in food processor (or store-bought)
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
  • Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

Bring cream cheese and goat cheese to room temperature. With a mixer beat the cheeses and milk until smooth and spreadable. Add more milk if needed to loosen the mixture. Add lemon zest, 1 glove minced garlic and season with 1/4 tsp. salt and a few grinds of pepper. Mix well and set aside.

Line the inside of a 3-cup sharply sloping bowl with plastic; let the ends extend over the sides a few inches.

Spoon about one-third of the cheese into the lined bowl and pack it into an even layer. Spread the pesto almost completely to the sides of the first layer of cheese. Top with another third of the cheese, the sun-dried tomatoes, and all but 1/2 Tbs. of the pine nuts. Top with the remaining cheese. Pack down, fold the plastic over, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Half an hour before serving, take the bowl out of the refrigerator. Pull on the edges of the plastic to loosen the terrine from the bowl. Invert the terrine onto a plate, drizzle with a little olive oil, and let sit for 1/2 hour to warm up. Sprinkle with the remaining pine nuts, season liberally with pepper, and serve.

 

Lemon Chess Pie

yholmes 3 Comments

On a recent trip home to Arkansas I had the pleasure of leafing through a recipe collection from Pat Lacy. Pat is the late grandmother of my beautiful friend Lacy. I had a bite of her Green Bean Casserole and knew I had to look through that little book of handwritten recipes for more old Southern jewels. Folks, I don’t even like Green Bean Casserole… I had seconds.

Home made pies can evoke nostalgic memories, especially when they were a special treat baked by a parent. The combination of a delicious pie and the thoughtfulness of buying kids clothes online for a birthday creates a memorable experience. These traditions and gestures from parents can help create a sense of love and affection in childhood that can last a lifetime.

I came across several great recipes including this one for Lemon Chess Pie. Chess Pies are a Southern specialty of eggs, butter & sugar. When cooked the inside resembles a creamy lemon curd and the top becomes a beautiful golden brown.

Surprisingly, I didn’t have a lot of Chess Pie growing up in the South. My mom always made Chess Squares which are actually NOTHING like Chess Pie (but yummy). This is a very rich pie… so plan on sharing.

Since I shouldn’t eat an entire Chess Pie (no one should or COULD really) I made 3 small ones. The recipe makes 1 regular pie and the cranberries were just a holiday addition.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pie crust
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon flour
  • 1 tablespoon cornmeal
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup melted butter
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup fresh cranberries (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 350.

Prepare a pie plate with a homemade or store bought crust. Set aside.

Combine sugar, flour, cornmeal & salt in a bowl. Add melted butter, lemon juice & milk. Mix well. Add eggs one at a time until just mixed. Pour in pie shell. If adding cranberries – drop a few fresh cranberries on the top.

Bake at 350 for 50 minutes.

 

Mustard and Herb Crusted Salmon

yholmes 1 Comment

I do love a cold Sunday morning sipping hot coffee and planning a delicious Sunday dinner… that will take a good part of my day to prepare.

Yes, I love those meals that take entirely too long to chop all the veg, dirty up all the pots in the kitchen and ultimately fill my house with an aroma I won’t get from a 30 minute meal.

Those days are more plentiful recently, but some meals are meant to be simple. Like fish. This Mustard and Herb Crusted Salmon is so simple but tastes like a million bucks in less than 10 minutes.

The cooking method requires only broiling but make sure to use the middle oven rack. I had rosemary & thyme still growing but use any herb you have on hand and if you don’t have fresh, by all means use dried (just use 1/2 the amount as dried is more potent than fresh).

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 pound salmon fillets
  • 1/2 tsp garlic, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves
  • 1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
  • 1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • Juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the broiler.

In a small bowl combine garlic, rosemary, thyme, oil, Dijon mustard, whole-grain mustard, honey and lemon juice.

Line a baking sheet with foil. Spray the foil with nonstick spray or drizzle a little olive oil. Arrange the salmon fillets on the baking sheet and season with salt and pepper. Broil for 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and spoon the mustard sauce over the fillets. Continue broiling until the fillets are just cooked through and golden brown, about 5 minutes longer.

Remove from oven and let rest for 2-3 minutes before serving.

 

Acorn Squash and Sweet Potato Ravioli in Pineapple Sage Brown Butter Sauce

yholmes 1 Comment

Making ravioli is easy when you don’t have to make the pasta. These beautiful little pillows are savory, delightfully sweet and very easy to make thanks to premade wonton wrappers.

I used Pineapple Sage as I had a ton of it in my garden and I had no idea what to do with it… but regular fresh sage will be just as wonderful.

Your efforts will not go without reward (these freeze VERY well and make about 4 dozen)… well worth the time to make them… and enjoy for a few months.

I served the ravioli as a side with an apple cider brined pork chop finished with a shallot cider pan sauce (recipe to come soon and may be the best thing I’ve come up with on the spot). These beauties would also be very impressive as an appetizer for the holidays.

Note: Wonton wrappers are found in the freezer section of most grocery stores.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 small to medium acorn squash (about 2 1/2 pounds)
  • 1 sweet potato or yam
  • 1 tablespoons dark molasses
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1/4 cup crème fraiche (substitute: cream cheese)
  • 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1 package round Wonton Wrappers (usually found in the freezer section)
  • Flour, for dusting board
  • 4 tablespoons sweet butter
  • 8 fresh sage leaves
  • 2 ounces Parmesan, for grating

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Cut squash in half lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Season with salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a roasting pan. Scrub outside of sweet potato, pierce with fork in several places and place on roasting pan with acorn squash. Cook in the oven until very soft, about 1 hour.

Let cool to room temperature and scoop out flesh into a large mixing bowl. Mash with sweet potato until well combined.

Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium-low heat until it begins to brown. Immediately remove from heat and add remaining 1 tablespoon molasses and all the vinegar. Add to squash and sweet potato with crème fraiche, Parmesan, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper and mix well. The recipe can be made ahead to this point. Cover well and refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days.

To fill the raviolis: Put 1 tablespoon squash filling in the center of a wonton wrapper. Leave a 1/2-inch border all around the filling. Moisten borders with water and fold in half. Press all the air out and seal firmly by pressing all around with fingertips. Lay raviolis out to dry on a lightly floured board or baking sheet and lightly flour the tops. Repeat until you run out of wrappers and/or filling.

To cook, boil in lightly salted water until tender, about 3 minutes. Reserve 2 ounces of the cooking water.

Uncooked, filled raviolis may be used immediately or frozen for 2 months. Lay them out on sheet pans and place in freezer until frozen. Transfer to plastic bag.

For the Sage Brown Butter: While raviolis are cooking, in a large saute pan, melt the butter with the sage and a pinch of salt until it foams and becomes light brown. Reserve.

On medium heat toss the cooked raviolis in the sage butter then transfer to a serving platter or dishes. Finish with a generous grating of Parmesan cheese.

 

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