Pam Anderson – Bon Appetit Hon

Puff Pastry Quiche

16 May 201210 April 2012by WendiLeave a Comment

Puff Pastry Quiche

Adapted from Pam Anderson’s Meatless Meals

BAH Note: Feel free to use just about any vegetable. Pam suggests sliced mushrooms, halved cherry tomatoes, thin asparagus, diced leeks, or even thawed frozen spinach.

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 cup butter braised onions
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 cup sour cream
2/3 cup evaporated milk
3/4 cup grated cheese

Place oven racks in the top and bottom position and heat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll the puff pastry out on a lightly floured surface until it is just larger than a 1/4 sheet pan. Transfer the puff pastry to the sheet pan, trimming off any overhang, and docking the pastry all over with a fork.

Spread the butter braised onions, or vegetable of your choice, into a single layer on the pastry. Bake on the bottom oven rack for 10 to 20 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown.

While the puff pastry bakes, heat the evaporated milk until it is just warmed. In a separate bowl, use a fork to beat together the eggs, salt, pepper, thyme, and sour cream. Once the egg mixture is completely combined, stir in some of the warmed evaporated milk, about a tablespoon at a time, to temper the egg mixture. Whisk the rest of the evaporated milk into the egg mixture before pouring the egg and milk mixture into the puff pastry and evenly sprinkling the cheese on top.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees and place the sheet pan on the top rack. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the egg filling is just set. Then set the oven to broil and allow the top of the quiche to brown for about 2 minutes.

Allow the quiche to cool slightly before serving.

Appetizers, Main Course

Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas

9 April 20128 March 2012by Wendi6 Comments

I know what you’re thinking, “Here she goes with the black beans again. I thought she said that she DOESN’T like black beans all that much. Make up your mind lady.”

What can I say? This recipe meets all my bonus point criteria. In addition to black beans it has zucchini, cheese, sour cream, and avocado. And it’s also crowd friendly since you finish the quesadillas off in the oven, letting you make a bunch at once.

If you need any more reasons to convince you to give these a try, email me. I’ll have you over the next time these go on the menu.

Black Bean and Zucchini Quesadillas

Adapted from Pam Anderson’s Meatless Meals

BAH Note: I typically make four quesadillas in a batch and have a bit of filling left over, which I add to a bunch of mixed greens for an easy salad another day. If you’ve got a few more mouths to feed, make a couple of more quesadillas to use all of the filling.

BAH Tip: I have bad luck with fresh cilantro. Even though I store it in a glass of water in the fridge, it always goes bad before I use it all. My solution is to buy the tube of cilantro from the grocery store. It’s not as good as using fresh but I don’t end up wasting a bunch of fresh herbs. If you go the tube route, just be mindful of how you’re going to use it. I wouldn’t recommend it as a finishing herb but in applications where you cook the herb into the dish, I consider a tablespoon or so to be an acceptable alternative.

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 small zucchini, diced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 can (15.5 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
4 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 cup grated monterey jack cheese
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (see BAH Tip above)
sour cream
1 avocado, diced (optional)

Set an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Set a cooling rack into a rimmed baking sheet and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan set over medium heat. Add the zucchini and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until softened. Add the cumin and oregano and cook another minute. Stir in the black beans and cilantro and cook until the filling is just dry. Transfer the filling to a bowl and wipe the frying pan out with a paper towel.

Return the frying pan to the stove over medium high heat. Working one at a time, add a tortailla to the pan and cook until the bottom just begins to brown. Carefully turn the tortilla over and cook for about 30 seconds until the tortilla puffs a bit and begins to brown on the other side. Transfer the tortilla to the prepared baking sheet and immediately fold it in half. Repeat with the remaining tortillas.

Once all the tortillas are warmed, open each tortilla and place 1/3 cup of the filling mixture on the bottom half of each tortilla. Top each with approximately 1/4 cup of grated cheese, fold the tortillas back in half, and press lightly.

Bake in the oven for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp and the filling is warm. Serve with sour cream and diced avocado.

{printable recipe}

Main Course, Soup

Tortellini Soup

9 January 201223 November 2011by Wendi17 Comments

So it’s January. The holidays are officially over. You may have overindulged in things like cookies, cocktails, and buttery treats. Which may mean that you’re feeling a little cruddy right about now. While I don’t have the cure for any additional pounds that may have stuck around as a reminder of cookies past, I have a lovely soup to warm you on a cold winter day.

I’m not naive, I know cookies are more fun than soup. But a hearty bowl of tortellini soup comforts me on a cold, dark winter day. I’ve yet to the meet the cookie that can do that.

Tortellini Soup

Adapted from Pan Anderson’s Meatless Meals

1 quart vegetable broth (I used chicken broth)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup water
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large onion, diced
2 medium carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 zucchini, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
8 ounces fresh baby spinach
9 ounces fresh or frozen tortellini

Combine the broth, tomatoes and any tomato juices, and water in a medium pot and set over low medium low heat.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the onion and carrots to the dutch oven and cook about 10 minutes or until softened. Add the zucchini, red pepper, and Italian seasoning and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add the warmed broth mixture to the dutch oven and simmer, partially covered for about 10 minutes. Stir in the spinach and tortellini and cook partially covered for another 10 minutes.

{printable recipe}

Side Dishes, Vegetables

Sweet Potato Hash

4 January 201223 November 2011by Wendi2 Comments

No, no, you’re not caught in a time loop. You did just see that chicken two days ago. But this is the only photo that shows the sweet potato and Brussells sprout hash that went with the chicken. So the photo gets to make an encore appearance.

Hash. What exactly is it? According to the all knowing google, it is a dish of cooked meat cut into small pieces and recooked, usually with potatoes. The only problem is that the amount of meat vs. the amount of vegetables I consume is pretty frightening. Ideally, the ratio should be reversed which shouldn’t be hard because I actually LIKE vegetables. I just run out of ideas of how to fix them. So as a result, they waste away in the fridge, or on the counter, until they are beyond possible consumption. Yes, I am guilty of wasting food. There, I’ve said it.

So how does hash address my status as a repeat offender when it comes to wasting food and get me to up my servings of veggies? Simply by being. Hash is a godsend when it comes to using up vegetables that have been neglected. Don’t know what to do with that sad sweet potato that you didn’t use the other week? Got a carrot or two left in the crisper? What about an onion? Did your plan of pan roasted Brussells sprouts not materialize? You’ve got everything you need for hash. What other vegetables are hash friendly?

According to Pam Anderson, in her book Meatless Meals, mushrooms, corn (fresh or frozen), eggplant, turnips, and butternut squash are all prime candidates. She’s the one who introduced me to the concept of meatless hash. So whether I want a side dish to go with one of my meaty meals, or I want a satisfying meat free option, all I have to do is open the fridge and see what vegetables need some love.

Sweet Potato Hash

Adapted from Pam Anderson’s Meatless Meals

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 to 1 1/2 pound (one medium or large) sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
1 pound Brussels sprouts thinly sliced (stems trimmed, outer layer of leaves removed)

Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the sweet potato, onion, and Brussels sprouts and stir to coat with the oil.

Place a lid on the frying pan and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for approximately 10 to 15 minutes or until the vegetables have softened but your thickest vegetables are still just a bit firm. Remove the lid, stir the vegetables in the pan, increase the heat back to medium high and cook until the liquid evaporates and the vegetables begin to caramelize.

Once the vegetables have browned on the bottom, stir them gently to try and get the browned sides up. Continue cooking, without stirring, until the vegetables are as browned as you want them. Taste for seasoning and add kosher salt and black pepper to taste.

{printable recipe}

Main Course, Pasta, Side Dishes

Lemony Seafood Pasta Salad

23 February 201123 February 2011by Wendi29 Comments

This winter has been especially frightful. I can’t even begin to image what it has been like for people living in the midwest or northeast who have been utterly beaten down with snow. I survived Snomageddon 2010 and know the misery that comes when the forecast calls for accumulations measured in feet instead of inches. Y’all have my sympathies.

While I can’t personally help you dig out from Snowpocalypse 2011, I can offer you a recipe that will have you imagining a land of picnics and potlucks, warm breezes and sunny skies, and flip flops and halter tops.

Don’t forget to take along some imaginary sunscreen.

Lemony Seafood Pasta Salad

Adapted from Pam Anderson’s Perfect One Dish Dinners

BAH Note: If you showed up to a potluck at my house with this dish, you would earn a special place in my heart. I kept tweaking the dressing because the lemons I used were extremely sour. I had to add agave nectar to balance the extreme puckering produced by my produce. Feel free to add a minced clove of garlic to the dressing to turn up the flavor. And if you like your dressing with more olive oil, add it. I purposely scaled the olive oil down to suit my tastes (Pam’s recipes calls for 1/2 cup).

BAT Tip: When you cut up the raw shrimp, you want the pieces to be approximately the same size as the scallops so they cook in the same amount of time. And yes, as unconventional as it may seem to cook your seafood with your pasta, it works beautifully.

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound small pasta
1/2 pound bay scallops
1 pound raw shrimp, peeled, and cut into bite size pieces
1 pint grape tomatoes, cut into halves
7 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
dried oregano

In a small bowl, whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, vinegar, and garlic (if using). Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Set the dressing aside.

Cook the pasta according to the package directions until it is just al dente, approximately 10 to 12 minutes depending on your pasta. Add the seafood to the pasta pot and cook for one to two minutes until the shrimp and scallops are just cooked and opaque. Drain the pasta and seafood without rinsing and transfer them to a large bowl to cool slightly.

Just before serving, mix the tomatoes, feta, and oregano into the bowl with the pasta. Add the dressing and stir to combine.

{printable recipe}

Uncategorized

Perfect One Dish Dinners

16 September 20106 September 2010by Wendi18 Comments

I may, or may not, have a cookbook obsession. It’s been a few months since I last put a new cookbook on the shelf. It’s also been a few months since I picked up any of the cookbooks that were already on that shelf. Maybe I’m more a cookbook collector than a user? But don’t tell The Mistah that otherwise I’ll have to resort to sneaking new cookbooks into the house under the cover of darkness. Some women buy new clothes or shoes they don’t want their husbands to know about. My guilty purchases tend to lean more towards purses, camera gear, and cookbooks. Don’t judge. I know you come here for these peeks into the crazy. My point is that I have a weakness for cookbooks. Continue reading “Perfect One Dish Dinners” →

Random

Big Summer Potluck

10 August 201010 August 2010by Wendi25 Comments

I’m not a gambler by nature. The risks I take are calculated, not reckless. However, there are moments when I throw caution to the wind, say what the hell, and let the chips fall where they may. These moments are few and far between, but they do happen. My most recent spontaneous, caution thrown to the wind decision involved me, one untested cookie recipe, a set of Mapquest directions, six hours of driving, 39 food bloggers, several food professionals, and three deer.

The destination was called the Big Summer Potluck. Organized by women who know food, blogging, and photography – Maggy Keet and Sharon Anderson of Three Many Cooks and Erika Pineda of Ivory Hut – this was a day to come together with other food bloggers to talk about the challenges we all face. It was an opportunity to build our food blogging community, to support and encourage one another, to learn more about our craft, and to eat some amazing food.

These ladies pulled out all the stops. On the agenda:

Pam Anderson (food columnist, cookbook author, Three Many Cooks food blogger, and former executive editor of Cook’s Illustrated) shared her thoughts on recipe development and recipe writing, in addition to graciously hosting us at her home.

Abby Dodge (food writer and instructor, cookbook author, and contributing editor to Fine Cooking magazine) demoed a dessert from her upcoming Desserts 4 Today cookbook (brilliant concept y’all…a cookbook full of desserts that utilize four ingredients), and shared some of her tips and tricks (stabilize whipped cream by replacing half the heavy cream with marscapone…yum).

Melissa DeMayo (food stylist extraordinaire) shared her food styling expertise and tips (texture, height, ingredient shots), demoed building the picture perfect sandwich, and told us the best way to do {fill in the blank with your question of choice} is whatever results in the prettiest shot.

Erika Pineda (photojournalist, sports photographer, and Ivory Hut blogger) spoke about the Holy Trinity of photography (Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO), point and shoot vs. dslr, and processing.

We had a lively discussion about video content and media campaigns with Auritt Communications.

And then there was Alice. Alice Currah of Savory Sweet Life and Everyday Alice. Alice Currah who was named one of Forbes.com’s “Eight of The Very Best Food Bloggers” and Saveur’s food photography “Cover Contest” winner. Maybe you’ve heard of her? She’s the bomb. Alice spoke to us about the importance of being authentic in our craft, speaking (and blogging) from the heart and from what we know, carving our own niche out of the blogosphere while also supporting and encouraging and honoring other food bloggers.

I go on and on about The Universe this and The Universe that and it may sound trite but hear me out. I was originally supposed to be in New York city for BlogHer this summer. My plans changed and I didn’t have the opportunity to attend and to finally meet in person some of the people that I have grown to think of as part of my extended family. And I was disappointed about that. But The Universe more than made up for it by getting me to Big Summer Potluck. BlogHer is mega big. It’s huge. Which for my socially awkward self is completely overwhelming. Big Summer Potluck was intimate. It was warm and welcoming. It was a conversation among old friends who may have just met each other that morning. It was exactly where I needed to be.

Remember my post You Might Be A Food Blogger If… That’s how Big Summer Potluck made me feel. I was anxious about walking into a room with an untested recipe (and we know I have strict rules about untested recipes) where I didn’t know a soul. My lack of navigational skills resulted in me getting lost in rural Pennsylvania and being the very last person to arrive 30 minutes late. Hello, I consider showing up on time being late. And yet, once I set foot in the door all of that melted away. I was embraced by these people. I was part of their tribe. I belonged. And isn’t that what we all want? To be accepted. To be validated. To be inspired.

There was laughter. Warm sun, clear skies, and cool breezes. Amazing products supplied from KitchenAid, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, New West Knifeworks, The Spice House, Fine Cooking, Green Valley Organics, Green Mountain Coffee, Cypress Grove Chevre, Naturally Nora, and Lindsay Olives. And incredible food. Because you have to know that at a food blogger get together we’re going to nosh on good eats. To see people who know and make good food eat my potluck contribution and have their faces light up was priceless. In my head, I sounded like an insecure adolescent saying OMG, Alice Currah is eating my cookie and she LIKES it!!! There may have also been jazz hands and the Peanuts dance going on in my head as well. I was too excited in the moment to accurately recall now.

So I’ve been quietly sending my thanks back to The Universe for giving me the opportunity to be part of Big Summer Potluck. For the people who made it all possible and the people whose presence made it what it was.

I’ve also been thanking The Universe for allowing me to come to a complete stop on that winding back road in time not to hit the deer that decided to pop out of nowhere and lazily cross the road. I don’t know if there is any symbolic meaning to seeing three massive bucks other than the obvious – slow down. But that is one of the small moments from the weekend I hope to hang on to. Yes Universe, sometimes I hear what you’re trying to tell me loud and clear.

Hungry for more Big Summer Potluck? Check out: