!Uno Mas!

Tonight for Halloween, I entertained 7 adults prior to taking our little ones trick or treating. We started off with some pico de gallo and chips, along with some Jalapeno poppers. Then for the main course we had some tortilla soup. I was inspired from my recent trip to Mexico:)


Pico De Gallo
4 tomatos chopped
juice of one lime
1/2 c cilantro
1/2 red onion
Salt and Pepper to taste


Jalapeno Poppers
5 Jalapenos halved and seeded
cream cheese
colby jack
flour
eggs beaten
bread crumbs


Fill each jalapeno half with cream cheese and place a stick of colby on top. Dredge in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs. Top with a little melted butter and bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes.


Tortilla soup(vegatarian style)
Chopped carrots
Chopped onions
Chopped garlic
Chopped celery
vegetable broth
cumin
chili powder
ground corriander
salt and pepper
2 cans tomatos
1/2 cup milk

Sautee all the chopped veggies in a little oil. Add everything else...simmer for as long as you got. The key to good soups like this are the toppings: chips, avacado, lime, sour cream, cheese, and pico!!! Delicioso!

End of October

Well, it is the end of another challenge. This one seemed to really pick up steam in the last week here. Thanks for the great idea, Robin!

Just a reminder, in November, we will be cooking from Hot, Sour, Salty, Sweet by Jeffery Alfred. I have already made my Thai Fish Sauce with Hot Chilis. It smells terrible! ;)

Autumn Salad

This is a recent Cooking Light salad I found the other day and made it with our dinner last night. I have never made a viniagrette with parika and was curious. The dressing was really good but I think it really works because of the sweet pear in the salad. I don't know if it would be as great on its own. The salad had an overall sweet-tart thing going on. Use a really ripe sweet pear if you can find one. Here is the link for the recipe . This may become my new winter standard salad.

I bet you all thought I wasn't going to submit anything. It's been a crazy month but here's my contribution.

Now I took a lot of pictures but not one does this dish justice. It's sooo good! And the sauce does get spicier the next day. It can also be used over ravioli if you like.



Filling based on an old CL recipe:

2 cups black beans; 1 cup chopped in food processor
2-3 chopped scallions
1 chopped chipotle in adobo
1/2 cup low fat sour cream

Mix scallions, chipotle and sour cream. Stir into black beans.


SPICY PUMPKIN SAUCE/ENCHILADS
("Everyday Food; May 2004)

1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeno, quartered
(remove ribs and seeds for less heat, if desired)
1 tsp. chili powder
8 corn tortillas (6 inch)
Filling of choice (see note)
1-1/2 cups grated sharp white cheese(I used white cheddar and didn't measure)

Serves 4 * Prep time: 20 mins. *Total time: 1 hour

Preheat oven to 425.

In a blender, puree pumpkin, garlic, jalapeno, chili powder, 2-1/2 cups water, 2 tsps. salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper until smooth. (Hold blender top firmly as blender will be quite full.) Pour 1 cup of the sauce into the bottom of an 8 inch square or other shallow baking dish.

Roll tortillas with filling; mound on half of the tortilla and roll up; place seam side down in baking dish.

Pour remaining sauce on top; sprinkle with cheese. Place dish on a baking sheet (I didn't need to); bake until cheese is golden and sauce is bubbling, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool five minutes before serving.

Butternut Squash and Sage Soup

In response to Kerri's disappointment over her soup attempt last week, my invigorated taste for a scrumptious version has risen to the top. This one was actually quite good!

Butternut Squash and Sage Soup

1 butternut squash (approx 4 lbs)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 Tbsp oil
1 Tbsp honey
6 sage leaves or 2 Tbsp dried sage (I used fresh)
4 cups chicken stock/broth (I used real (boxed) stock this time since it matters so much here)
1 cup sour cream (omitted)
Salt and pepper to taste (1/4 - 1/2 tsp pepper)

Prick the outside of the butternut squash with a fork, place on baking pan, and roast in pre-heated 400 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool. Slice in half, remove seeds, peel, and cut into ½ inch chunks.

In a large saucepan (soup pot), melt oil, add onion, and sauté until translucent. Add honey and cook until the mixture begins to bubble. Add chunks of squash, sage, salt (omitted), and pepper, and stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock so that squash chunks are completely submerged. Bring soup to boil, and simmer for 45 minutes – make sure squash remains submerged by adding water if necessary. Remove soup from heat and puree in a food processor, mixer, or blender. Ladle soup into bowls, add a dollop of sour cream (omitted), and serve. Note: We really like pepper, so we added a lot. Pepper for your own taste.

We used our china for the first time tonight, and I was so excited about taking a cool picture, but I forgot.... so I got this lame picture in the tupperware storage dish for leftovers. Hey, I'm a newbie here :)

The soup was great and we will definitely make it again. And healthy too!! DH is a fan and that counts for something.

Ooooo, SALAD!!!

I finally made my salad course Friday, and actually had company over to eat it. That was the first time that has happened for this "company" challenge.

This salad is based on one we had a Maguire's in Dallas. I'll call it...

Fall Apple Salad - 4 servings

Dressing
4 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp honey
4 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients except olive oil and stir with whisk. Gradually, stream in olive oil. (I don't like a lot of dressing.)

Salad
~6 cups red leaf lettuce (it just makes this salad look really fall-ish. Any other kind of lettuce is fine)
blue cheese crumbles
red onion, sliced
1/2 granny smith apple, cored and thinly sliced
pecans (see note)

Combine lettuce with most of dressing. Add more dressing, or lettuce, if needed. Arrange lettuce onto 4 plates. Top with apples, blue cheese, and red onion. Oh, and pecans. See note.

Note: The Maguire's salad uses candied pecans. It was my intent to make some, but I just ended up toasting mine. Then, I forgot to put them on my salad. Oh, bother!!

Seafood and Saffron Tagliatelle

This is a recipe that we have been trying to get to for a month and found some time today. I'll post the recipe as it is written and then tell you what I did for two. This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver's cookbook, The Naked Chef Takes Off.

Serves 4
a good pinch of saffron
1 glass of dry white wine
1 lb. tagliatelle pasta
olive oil
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1.5 lb. mixed seafood (fish, scallops, clams, bearded mussels, shrimp, squid)
1 1/3 c. cream
salt and pepper
for garnish only: fennel fronds, parsley or dill

Soak the saffron in the white wine. Cook the tagliatelle in salted boiling water until al dente. Add a little olive oil and the garlic to a frying pan and cook until softened. Add clams and mussels, shake pan around and add white wine/saffron mixture. Bring to a boil, and discard any shellfish that remain closed. Then add rest of seafood and the cream. Simmer for 3-4 minutes, season to taste, add the drained tagliatelle and serve scattered with a few of the garnish suggestions.

This was a fabulous tasting dish. I would like to try it again with actual fresh seafood. We used a good-quality frozen "frutti di mare" (fruits of the sea) mixture (thawed - 1/2lb.) and didn't deal with tracking down good shellfish. I used 250 g. of tagliatelle (roughly 1/2lb.) and only 1/2 c. cream along with a couple spoons of the pasta cooking water. Also, I took the pasta out of the boiling water when there was 2 minutes left on the manufacturers instructions and tossed it with the saffron cream mixture, put a lid on it and let it soak up the broth for the remainder of the cooking time and the pasta came out perfect.