Recipes of the Week - October 29th

Sweet Pepper Pasta Toss with Kale From: http://allrecipes.com 1 (8 ounce) package uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 medium red bell pepper, chopped 1 medium yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 cup roughly chopped kale 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 pinch dried basil 1 pinch ground cayenne pepper salt and ground black pepper to taste 8 ounces feta cheese, crumbled Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in red pepper, yellow pepper, kale and garlic. Season with basil, cayenne pepper, salt and black pepper. Cook until vegetables are tender. In a large bowl, toss cooked pasta with skillet mixture. Sprinkle with feta cheese to serve. Butternut Squash Puff Recipe 3 cups cooked, mashed butternut squash 1/4 cup evaporated milk or light cream 2 tablespoons flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon black pepper 1 tablespoon sugar 1 tablespoon grated orange rind 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind 2 tablespoons butter 2 eggs, beaten Combine all ingredients and turn into a 1 quart buttered casserole. Place in a 9 inch square pan of hot water. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 50 minutes or until firm in the center. Serve with turkey or pork. Great for a holiday side dish. Horseradish storage Store horseradish root unwashed in a plastic bag in the vegetable drawer of the refrigerator. It begins to dry up as soon as it is cut, so if you've purchased it at the market, try to use it within a week or two for fullest flavor. Once it is cut or grated, used within a few days unless you preserve it in vinegar (see tips below). Freezing is not recommended for whole pieces. However, grated fresh horseradish may be frozen up to 6 months. You may wish to flash-freeze it by the tablespoon in ice trays or on waxed paper, and then place in a sealed plastic bag in the freezer. Keep in mind that it will lose pungency when frozen. Prepared horseradish will last up to three months in the refrigerator. However, it quickly loses pungency and is best used within 3 to 4 weeks. Horseradish cooking tips • Horseradish is best used freshly grated and raw. • Scrub with a stiff brush and peel off the dark skin before using horseradish. • In larger roots, the core may be fibrous and bitter. Remove and discard the core, along with any green spots. • Horseradish is like the allium family -- the finer it is chopped or grated, the more pungent the flavor. • When grating horseradish, it's easiest to use a food processor. Cut the peeled root into cubes and pulse to the desired consistency. The fumes will be quite strong and can actually burn your nose and eyes. Be sure to open a window, remove the lid at arm's length, and turn your head away. • For homemade prepared horseradish, just add white vinegar and salt to taste while processing. Store in a lidded glass jar in the refrigerator up to six weeks. • Fold 1 Tbsp fresh grated horseradish into stiffly-whipped heavy cream and salt to taste for a classic horseradish sauce to accompany beef dishes. Dill weed is also a tasty addition. • Add 1 Tbsp fresh grated horseradish to 1 cup applesauce for a piquant condiment to pork dishes. Apple Horseradish Sauce Recipe • When serving horseradish, do not use silver. Horseradish will tarnish silver. • If you grow your horseradish, the young, tender green leaves are edible in salads and may also be cooked. • If you want to retain the spicy zing of horseradish in cooked dishes, add it at the end of the cooking process, after the dish has been removed from the heat.

Recipes of the Week - October 22nd

Skillet Potato Pie 1½ lb Red-skinned potatoes ½ cups Buttermilk 2 Scallions, minced 1 Salt and pepper 1 Oil for frying Cook potatoes, slice ¼ in. thick. Mash lightly just until broken up into several pieces. Stir in buttermilk and scallions and season with salt and pepper.Heat just enough oil to coat bottom of non stick skillet. When hot enough pour in potato mixture and pat in evenly. Turn the heat to moderate and cook until the bottom of the pie is crisp and browned. Slide out onto a plate and cut into wedges. Swiss Chard Rissoles swiss chard salt pepper nutmeg egg oatflakes Wash Leaves. Sweat leaves in whatever rinsing water is still clinging to them. When slightly cooked, drain and if necessary press out gently. Chop roughly, mix with salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste, egg and a handful of medium or coarse oatflakes. Leave standing for at least 30 minutes (longer if possible). Form rissoles or cut out using a large spoon and either pan fry on both sides in hot oil or place on a well greased baking sheet and put into a very hot oven until golden brown. Serve with boiled potatoes, roast parsnips or just crusty bread and salad of your choice. Swiss Chard Pasta Sauce 1 bunch Swiss or ruby chard 1 medium onion 1 small clove garlic 3 tbsp olive oil 3 oz double cream 2 oz parmesan cheese salt & pepper Roughly chop the chard and steam for 10 minutes until tender. Finely slice the onion and the garlic and gently fry together for 15 minutes until soft and browned. Add the chard to the pan and stir in the cream. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the grated parmesan. Serve with freshly cooked farfalle.

Recipes of the Week - October 15th

Roasted Garlic Recipe from: www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001712roasted_garlic.php (includes photos!) Preheat the oven to 400°F. Peel away the outer layers of the garlic bulb skin, leaving the skins of the individual cloves intact. Using a knife, cut off 1/4 to a 1/2 inch of the top of cloves, exposing the individual cloves of garlic. Place the garlic heads in a baking pan; muffin pans work well for this purpose. Drizzle a couple teaspoons of olive oil over each head, using your fingers to make sure the garlic head is well coated. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake at 400°F for 30-35 minutes, or until the cloves feel soft when pressed. Allow the garlic to cool enough so you can touch it without burning yourself. Use a small small knife cut the skin slightly around each clove. Use a cocktail fork or your fingers to pull or squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of their skins. Eat as is or mash with a fork and use for cooking. Can be spread over warm French bread, mixed with sour cream for a topping for baked potatoes, or mixed in with Parmesan and pasta Fava Greens – Leaves can be used raw in salads Sautéing the tender tips & leaves Wrapping for sushi Great Winter Squash Tips can be found at: http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--830/all-about-winter-squash.asp here are some more tips for making good use of winter squash: (from: http://vegkitchen.com/recipes/winter-squash.htm ) Fresh winter squashes will keep at room temperature for 2 to 3 weeks. Refrigerating them may alter their flavor and texture, so it's not recommended. If you don't want to struggle with cutting a large, thick-skinned squash, bake the whole squash ahead of time at 375 degrees for a half hour or so. When cool, it will cut more easily. Also, it's easier to scoop out the seeds from a squash that is done than an unbaked one. A good way to bake large squashes like butternut or spaghetti is to cut them in half lengthwise, place the cut side up in a baking dish with about 1/2 inch of water at the bottom, and cover each half tightly with foil. Bake for an additional 30 to 50 minutes, depending on size, until the flesh is easily pierced with a knife. Smaller squashes like delicata and golden acorn can be microwaved successfully. For larger squashes, I like to stick with oven baking. The flavor develops better, and they cook more evenly. Don't even think about microwaving spaghetti squash. Twice they have exploded in my microwave, leaving me with an incredible mess to clean! Quick Mashed Winter Squash – Cut the squash & peel away the thick skin. Cube the squash & boil until soft. Add a little honey to the water while boiling. Drain, mash & add honey when done.

Recipes of the Week - October 1st

Cooking Bok Choi http://chinesefood.about.com/ When the time comes to start cooking, you'll find that bok choy is extremely adaptable. Boiling, steaming, stir-frying and even deep-frying are all possibilities. With full-sized bok choy you'll want to separate the leaves from the stalks, as the thick stalks have a longer cooking time. Rinse both well and drain, then shred or cut across the leaves, and cut the stalks into small slices along the diagonal or as called for in the recipe. When stir-frying add a tablespoon or two of water to the wok and cover. If desired, adjust the seasonings, adding a bit of salt or sugar during cooking. Whichever cooking method you choose, be sure not to overcook the bok choy - the stalks should be tender and the leaves just wilted. Oriental Pak Choy Salad (cooked) 1/2 c. butter2 tbsp. white sugar1 bottle of sesame seeds (1 oz.)2 pkgs. Ramen noodles (broken up), do not use flavor packet 1 sm. pkg. slivered almonds2 lbs. bok choy lettuce (chopped coarsely)5 to 6 green onions, tops and all chopped In large skillet melt butter over medium heat. Add sesame seed, noodles, almonds and sugar. Stir all the time until lightly browned. Set aside to cool to room temperature. Toss bok choy and onions together, mix and chill until ready to serve. Just before serving, break up the crunchy mixture, add to bok choy, pour dressing over, mix and serve. DRESSING: 3/4 c. vegetable oil1/4 c. red wine vinegar1/2 c. white sugar2 tbsp. soy sauce Mix well and chill until ready to use. WINTER SQUASH QUICHE from www.cooks.com Pureed winter squash, such as butternut, banana, or buttercup, adds rich flavor and color to this winning quiche. 1 (9 inch) pastry shell 2 tbsp. chopped onions 1 c. shredded Swiss cheese 3 beaten eggs 1 1/2 c. milk 1 c. mashed, cooked winter squash 1/2 tsp. salt 1/ tsp. ground nutmeg 1/8 tsp. pepper Prepare and bake pastry and keep it warm. Cook onion until tender. Sprinkle cheese and onion in the warm pastry shell. In a bowl combine the eggs, milk, squash, salt, nutmeg and pepper; pour into pastry shell. Bake in a 325 oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes. WINTER SQUASH AND APPLES from www.cooks.com 2 c. cubes winter squash 2 apples, peeled and sliced 1-2 tsp. grated orange peel Steam 20 minutes. Mash with potato masher (not processor). Add rind. Bake in greased dish just to heat. WINTER SQUASH ROLLS from www.cooks.com 1 c. cooked winter squash 1/2 c. sugar Pinch salt Heat and cool: 2 tbsp. butter Dissolve 1/2 yeast cake in 1/4 cup lukewarm water. Mix squash, sugar, salt, milk and butter. Add to yeast. Add enough flour to make like bread dough; let rise until double in bulk. Shape into rolls; dip into melted butter and put in pan. Let rise again. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.