Any interest? Recipes

I made Ratatouille Nicoise last night (it's one of the kids' favorites!)

2T extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium eggplant, peeled and chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium green, red, and/or yellow bell peppers, seeded and chopped
1 medium yellow summer squash, chopped
1 medium zucchini, chopped
3 medium roma tomatoes, chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c chopped fresh basil leaves

1. In a 4qt Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add eggplant, cook about 3 min or until tender and golden brown. Add onion & garlic, cook and stir for another 2 min. Add bell peppers, cook & stir for another 2 min. Add summer squash and zucchini, cook & stir for 2 min. Add tomatoes, thyme, and cayenne pepper. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cook & stir for 2-5 min more or until vegetables are tender. Stir in basil. Serve hot, cooled to room temp, or chilled. If desired, garnish with fresh basil.

Nutrition facts per serving: 74 calories, 4g total fat (1g saturated fat), 0mg cholesterol, 68mg sodium, 10g carbohydrates, 4g fiber, 2g protein

Source: Chef Bruno Tison, The Fairmount Sonoma Mission Inn, reproduced in the Sonoma Diet Cookbook
wine pairing suggestion: Hanzell Pinot Noir or Deerfield Ranch Chardonnay

My notes: the eggplant sucks up the olive oil so you have to keep stirring or it will stick and burn. I haven't really ever gotten it to turn a golden brown, maybe I'm doing something wrong there.

This is one of our favorite chicken recipes - easy and quick! It comes from the Healthy Cooking For Two cookbook.

Deviled Chicken Breasts

2 Bone-in chicken Breast Halves
2 tbs Dijon mustard
2 tbs Dry White wine or Apple Juice
1 1/2 tsp Olive Oil
1/4 tsp Dried Thyme
Hot Pepper To Taste
2 tbs Minced shallots or Onions
1/2 cup Soft White Bread Crumbs

1. Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a baking pan with heavy foil
2. Remove the skin from the chicken breasts.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the mustard, wine or apple juice, oil, thyme and hot-pepper sauce. stir in the shallots or onions.
4. Place the bread crumbs in a shallow dish or on a piece of wax paper.
5. Roll the chicken in the mustard mixture, then in the bread crumbs to coat. Arrange in a single layer in the prepared pan and bake on the top shelf of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until the crumb coating is browned and the juices are clear when the breast is pierced with a fork. Serve hot or cold.

My notes: I usually use boneless chicken breasts and dried, minced onion in lieu of minced shallots or onions - I find that it sticks better to the chicken, and saves me a chopping step (although the shallots do taste better). Add the dried onion not too long before dragging the chicken through though, or the onion sucks up all the liquid of the other ingredients and the concoction gets pretty thick and won't stick easily - I grab globs with my fingers and spread it on the chicken before rolling in the breadcrumbs if this happens (also make sure to pat the chicken dry before rolling in the mustard mixture, it'll stick better).

What I haven't experimented with is trying different types of bread crumbs. I usually use Progresso Italian Style, or Garlic Herb, and if I'm out of those, Panko. Homemade might be fun though!

I tried leaving out the Tabasco once and it was so bland it was awful, now I load it up! I've made this so often that the hubby is quite sick of it, but since he travels a lot, we have plenty of opportunity to have it anyway (the kids love it!). :thumbsup:

Brown rice pilaf and a veggie go well with this dish. For a wine pairing, any good pinot noir or merlot if you prefer reds, and any dry white wine works well. Skip a sweet white, or too robust of a red like zinfandel or cab (unless you put a lot of Tabasco in the mustard mixture, then the spicy reds will taste fine).


LA - sorry, I do not have a potato soup recipe to recommend, as that's one of the soups that I just can't do - too gritty of a texture for me.

This sounded interesting!

http://www.grist.org/food/2011-05-13-to ... alsa-macha
Tom’s Kitchen: A recipe for simple, incendiary, and addictive ‘salsa macha’
by Tom Philpott
13 May 2011

Certain taquerias and street-food establishments in Mexico feature a fiery-hot, delicious condiment of dried chile peppers ground to a coarse paste and mixed with oil. As a chile-pepper fanatic, I've always found it irresistible.

I discovered on a recent trip to Mexico that the singular salsa has a name: salsa macha. ("Macha" being the female form of the no-need-to-translate adjective "macho.") For me, it was heaven. I couldn't get enough. I smuggled a few jars back to the United States, but quickly burned through my stash. It was time to start making my own damned salsa macha, which I immediately set to do.

These days, I use it on tacos, on fried eggs, on pasta or pizza in place of chile flakes. I spoon it sparingly over goat cheese on toast for quick hors d'oeuvres. I use it as an ingredient in cooking, sneaking a spoonful of it into everything from sauteed greens to beans to aioli.

The version below features chipotle peppers -- not the canned kind or the large brownish ones, but rather the smaller red ones

See article for recipe!

Elements of a radical salsa.