Pinterest Interests

Oh, Pinterest. How I love thee, let me count the ways...I love how you suck me into your time warp, how I sit down with you and look up to realize it's been three hours. I love how I see a craft project or recipe and you make me want to do it. NOW.

If you are on pinterest, you know what I mean. If you aren't on pinterest, get someone to send you an invite ASAP! (unless, of course, you want to do productive things with your time.)

Here are some of the things that my love, pinterest, has inspired me to make this week:

1. Eggplant Gratin


I have had a weird craving for things of the squash variety lately: butternut, zucchini, eggplant, yellow squash...mmmm. I guess it's the late summer, fall-ish weather.

As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to make it. Click below for the full recipe.

Eggplant Gratin
From Farmhouse Table



This was so, so good. And, I know the leftovers for dinner tonight will be even better!

2. Felt flowered wreaths


What you need:
6-8 sheets of felt, your choice of colors
Sharp scissors
Glue gun and plenty of glue sticks
Grapevine wreath
Artificial berries (or your choice of adornment)...optional
Patience

Here is a tutorial on how to make the flowers: Rolled felt flowers from Lines Across My Face



After you've made your flowers (I did about 12 per wreath), hot glue them to your wreath in whatever pattern suits you. Then place your chosen adornment on the wreath and secure with more hot glue. I hung these with burlap ribbon. I simply wrapped it around each wreath and secured it to the top of the door with flat thumbtacks. I left some ribbon showing on the inside of the door, too.


3. Homemade Cheese Crackers

I had everything I needed for these in my pantry already. I literally looked at the picture and got up and made them. They were so easy and fast and delicious!

Melt in your mouth cheese crackers from In the Kitchen with Kath

They were PERFECT with my tomato soup for lunch! mmmmm.


Thank you, Pinterest! You are truly an inspiration.

Honey-roasted BLT's with red pepper aioli

Ahhh. Tomatoes! If there is one thing that makes these sweltering Mississippi summers worth it, it's a big, red garden tomato. Growing up, my mom introduced me to a perfect summer snack. A big plate of ripe tomatoes with salt, pepper, and mayonnaise. It doesn't get any better!
Well, except for maybe a super duper BLT! We loved Ina Garten's California BLT's so much, we've eaten them probably 4 times since I blogged about them. Last night, I decided to put a new spin on the recipe...plus I needed to use up that leftover aioli!

Honey-roasted BLT's with red pepper aioli

6 slices white bread (Pepperidge Farm Hearty White), toasted
9 slices center cut bacon
2 Tbsp honey
1 avocado, sliced
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 cups torn romaine lettuce
2 large, or 4 small tomatoes, sliced and sprinkled with salt and pepper
mayo


Preheat oven to 425. Place bacon slices on a rack on top of a baking sheet. Drizzle each slice with honey. Bake at 425 for about 20- 25 minutes, until brown and crispy. Remove from oven and drain on paper towels. Spread mayo on bread slices to taste. Arrange 3 slices bacon, 2-3 tomato slices, 3-4 avocado slices, and 3-4 pieces lettuce on each sandwich. Top with remaining bread slices, cut in half and serve with red pepper aioli as a dipping sauce.

Yummy!

Homemade gnocchi!!

I'm super excited to tell you all about this gnocchi, but I guess I'd better start at the beginning of the week, so you'll know WHY I made the gnocchi.

Sunday is one of my work days. Usually I am so tired after 10 hours of helping folks out of bed and moving heavy arms and legs that I don't want to do much cooking...especially if I don't have anything planned and prepped already. So, Sunday, I called Justin on my way home from work with my usual "What do you want to eat?" (hoping he would suggest ordering a pizza). He said "Oh, just whatever we have..." Ugh, I really didn't want to cook and we were low on groceries, so I said "Well,I will just fix a salad or something." I drove home trying to scrounge up the energy to throw together some sort of dinner salad.

Well, to my surprise, I walk in the door to find THIS going on:



Yep, that's my husband and a rack of lamb. Probably the sexiest thing I have ever seen. Just saying.

He got the recipe from his Men's Journal magazine. He went to the grocery store (The Fresh Market!!) and got all the ingredients himself. Then, he cooked this fabulous dinner for me. So sweet, right?

I know.

Here are the recipes for my amazing dinner:


Herb-Crusted Rack of Lamb

Asparagus with red pepper dressing
Both from Men's Journal


Strawberry Mint Smoothie
From The Fresh Market

He picked up the recipe for the dessert smoothie while he was at the grocery store. It was all delicious. I love you baby!!

As I was cleaning up after dinner, I saw a pound of potatoes, a huge bunch of basil, and some cherry tomatoes on the counter. I know I didn't buy this stuff, so I asked Justin what they were for. If you read further into the asparagus recipe, you already know the answer. He said he bought all the ingredients, but just didn't have time to make all that gnocchi by hand.

My next thought was, "What kind of MEN'S magazine has recipes for rack of lamb and gnocchi, anyway?" Justin said these were part of an article titled, "Five recipes every man should be able to cook"

EVERY man? Not that I disagree, (I mean, wouldn't that be awesome?) but that's a bit excessive, right?

WELL....I have always wanted to try making gnocchi. Giada makes it look so easy on the Food Network! All the ingredients were there and Jacob and Jessy were coming over for dinner, so why not now?!

After looking at the recipe, I quickly realized that this would be an all day event. So, I got started early.

You can find the recipe for the gnocchi in the asparagus link above from Men's Journal...

Here is how you do it, adapted from Men's Journal:
1. Bake 1 pound of potatoes (any kind, really. I used Yukon Golds) for an hour.
2. Cut them in half and scoop out the insides.
3. Put the hot potatoes through a potato ricer.
4. Mound the hot potatoes on a clean countertop and make a well in the center.
5. Put 1/2 cup flour then 2 egg yolks then another 1/2 cup flour into the well.
6. With a bench scraper, chop everything together quickly until a dough forms.
7. Shape dough into a ball and roll in flour.
8. Pull off a section of dough and roll it into a snake.
9. Cut the snake into 1/2 inch pieces.

10. Roll each piece into a ball in your hand

11. Place the ball on your floured counter top and roll it with a fork or gnocchi paddle into an oval shape with indentations. (I don't have a gnocchi paddle, so i used a fork)




12. Once all the gnocchi are shaped, drop them into boiling, salted water. Scoop them out when they float to the top and dunk them in an ice bath to cool.
13. Take them out of the ice bath and drain on paper towels.
14. Refiridgerate or freeze until ready to use.

All of the above took about 2 and a half hours. Making the actual gnocchi dish was quick and simple. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a picture of our dinner.

I made Steak Diane, Gnocchi with tomatoes and basil, and Strawberry goat cheese salad.

The salad is my creation (and one of Jessy's favorites). Here is what goes in it:

Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad

4-5 cups fresh mixed baby greens
1 pint strawberries, halved
1/2 pint blueberries
1 small package goat cheese, crumbled
3 Tbsp. toasted pecans
4 Tbsp Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette (I use Ken's)

Toss together and serve!

The gnocchi was delicious. Much better texture and taste than the store-bought kind...but a lot of work!

Birthday cakes and Tomato and feta bruschetta

Sunday, Allie and Lauren had a dual birthday party at the carousel in Meridian. The Dentzel Carousel is a Meridian landmark and a popular place for birthday parties. It was built in 1896 and is beautifully handpainted. I made the girls' birthday cakes again this year. Allie wanted a peace sign cake and Lauren wanted Hannah Montana. Here are some shots from the party:







Tomato and Feta Bruschetta

You know that part in "Julie and Julia" where Julie makes the bruschetta with the fried bread and juicy, olive oily tomatoes? Well, I think about that scene all the time...it looks like such an amazing dinner. All that tomato juice and olive oil dripping down their chins....I had to make it! Here is my interpretation

1 baguette sliced diagonally
2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. minced garlic, divided
4-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 tsp. balsamic vinegar
2 Tbsp. chopped basil
Sea salt to taste
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

In a large skillet over medium heat, melt butter in 1 Tbsp. olive oil. Add 1 Tbsp garlic. Fry bread slices until browned on both sides. In a medium bowl, mix tomatoes, remaining olive oil and garlic, vinegar, basil, feta, and salt. Serve the tomato mixture on top of bread slices.

This turned out fabulous, and will probably be a weekly event at our house from now on. I'm sure I will come up with some fun variations, but this was awesome! Try it and enjoy.

Back in action....with a new favorite!!

Ahhh. I am so glad to be cooking again! I have been looking forward to the day when I would feel "almost normal" for a while now. I think, maybe, it's here.

First off, it's time to update my "Kitchen gadgets I'm dying for" list. For my birthday, Mary Kay (Justin's mom) got me the Microplane box grater. Check. I haven't used it yet, since I haven't done much in the kitchen since then...but, it is awesome! I can't wait to use it. Last, but certainly not least, Justin got me an early anniversary gift yesterday. I went to a cooking demonstration at Williams Sonoma with my co-worker, Annie. Afterwards, we were looking around, drooling over everything in the store when I saw it....Le Creuset 20% off sale! I showed Justin. He said "pick out which one you want...happy anniversary!" AAAHHH! 6 and 1/2 quart oval french oven. Check!



So...I decided to use my new french oven for EVERY thing I make this week. Here's to breaking in my new favorite gadget!!

The Maiden Voyage:



Last night, I decided to make the risotto recipe we learned in the Williams-Sonoma demo, with a few modifications. Here is the base recipe I used:

Spring Vegetable Risotto

Williams Sonoma

5 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 Tbs. unsalted butter
3 Tbs. olive oil
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
2 cups arborio rice
1 lb. zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
2 cups frozen baby peas
1/4 cup minced fresh mint
2/3 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Cook the risotto:
In a saucepan over medium heat, bring the broth and wine to a gentle simmer, then maintain the simmer over low heat.

Meanwhile, in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring constantly, until all the grains are opaque and well coated with the fat, about 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the simmering broth mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until the liquid is absorbed, 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to add the liquid about 1 cup at a time, stirring occasionally and adding more only after the previous addition has been absorbed.

Sauté the vegetables:
While the rice is cooking, in a fry pan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. olive oil. Add the zucchini and sauté just until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the peas and cook, stirring, until thawed and heated through, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.

Finish the risotto:
When the rice is tender and creamy but the grains are still al dente at the center, after about 22 minutes, stir in the sautéed vegetables and the mint and cook for 1 minute to heat through. Stir in the cheese. Season with salt and pepper, divide among shallow bowls and serve immediately. Serves 4.


I wasn't really a huge fan of the mint in the recipe. I mean, it was good, just not my thing. Plus I wanted to add some meat to make the dish a little more "husband-friendly". Here are my modifications: While the rice cooked, I baked some prosciutto in the oven until it was crispy, then stirred it in at the end. I sauteed some mushrooms with the zucchini. I used parsley in place of the mint. It turned out really pretty and yummy....see:





Tonight, my mom was here. We had already planned on having my favorite meal: tomato soup with grilled cheese sandwiches. Since I was using my new french oven, I decided to make homemade tomato-basil soup. (don't get me wrong, I love my Campbell's, but I wasn't about to heat that up in my Le Creuset!) Here is the recipe I used:

Tomato- Basil Soup

Cooking Light

4 cups chopped seeded peeled tomato (about 4 large)
4 cups low-sodium tomato juice
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
Basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)

Bring tomato and juice to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.

Place tomato mixture and basil in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan; stir in milk, salt, and pepper. Add cream cheese, stirring well with a whisk, and cook over medium heat until thick (about 5 minutes). Ladle soup into individual bowls; garnish with sliced basil, if desired.

For our grilled cheese, pressed the velveeta(yes!)sammies on my panini press. Delish!



Two days, two recipes, and I am already in love with this pot. It is perfect...plus, it's pretty!!

My cure for the "Sunday Blues"

Last week Justin and I visited Buffalo, NY for one of his residency interviews. After the interview, we went to NYC for a few days. On our last night in "The City" we had an amazing dinner at db Bistro Moderne. Check it out here :
db Bistro Moderne
I had the Tomato tart tatin, bacon-veiled salmon, and poached pears for dessert...Heaven. And, a most delicious bottle of Pino Noir.

My mission today is to recreate that beautiful tomato tart. I have a bunch of plum tomatoes I need to use...garlic, basil, olive oil all on hand. Ready, set, go!
After researching and combining a few recipes, here is what I came up with:

Tomato Tart a la Katie

1 refrigerated pie crust (I used Pillsbury)
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
1 Tbs. pesto (I just use the kind in a jar from the grocery store)
2 oz. shredded mozzerella
2 oz. shredded parmesan
1 Tbs. butter
1 clove garlic chopped
1 medium onion (caramelized with butter and garlic)
7-8 plum tomatoes thinly sliced
2 Tbs. chopped fresh basil
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400.
Prep tomatoes: Place thinly sliced tomatoes on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Cover with another paper towel. This helps draw moisture out to keep tart from being soggy...yuck.

Caramelize onion: Peel and thinly slice onion. Melt 1 Tbs. butter over medium heat, add onion and 1 clove of garlic chopped, season with salt and pepper. Cook until fully browned.


Transfer onion to a plate and set aside. Press pie dough into tart pan and trim around edges. In a small bowl, stir together mustard and pesto. Spread pesto mixture on crust. Sprinkle on mozzerella. Spread onion on top of mozzerella. Sprinkle on parmesan. Place tomatoes on tart in concentric circles. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and basil. Bake for 30- 35 minutes until brown and bubbly.

The tart turned out delicious! I had some asparagus in the fridge, so I roasted it with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Yummy!

Now for dessert: I picked up a pre made angel food cake at the grocery store today, along with some fresh blackberries and raspberries. Here is what I came up with:

Angel food cake with raspberry balsamic reduction and yogurt

Pre made angel food cake
1 6 oz package fresh raspberries
1 6 oz package fresh blackberries
1/2 cup yogurt (my absolute favorite yogurt is Stoneyfield Farms lowfat vanilla)
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar

To make reduction: Place raspberries, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Simmer about 15 minutes until thick. Crush berries with your spoon. Srain sauce to remove seeds if you want.
Top a slice of cake with yogurt, raspberry sauce and fresh blackberries
Mmmmm....


I love cooking on Sunday nights. I suffer from severe "Sunday Blues" every week...that terrible feeling when the weekend is over and the work week looms ahead. Sunday dinner cheers me up a bit and takes my mind off the stress of the week to come.