Monday's Soups Presents: Friday's Dinners

WE HAVE MOVED!

2010-05-21T10:08:00.001-07:00

Soupies we have moved here: http://mondayssoup.wordpress.com/
Please visit us! And change us in your google readers and what not.

Thanks for ladling us into your bowls,
Alayna & ML

Appetizer Party

2010-02-09T07:48:00.000-08:00

Appetizers. They're delicious. Everyone loves them. Plus it seems like you can go a little more crazy with trying to make an exciting appetizer because it's not the same sort of commitment as a whole meal, or entree. Having a whole party surrounded by appetizers (and cake) is a great idea to shake up boring February. We recommend. Invite your friends to bring their favorite appetizer dish, and if they don't have any ideas what to bring, scroll down.

Pate

melt about 2-3 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan with one bay leaf and one sprig of fresh rosemary
add 3/4 pound of chicken liver and cook (stirring occasionally) for about two minutes, then add a splash of whiskey (about a shots worth)
cook a few more minutes until still pink in the middle, but not bloody... this should take a total of less than five minutes
let cool for a few minutes, then put liver and juices into the food processor with some salt and pepper and blend until smooth
scrape into a dish, cover with seran wrap and let cool for a few hours until solid
enjoy!

Walnut Jam Cake

toast 1 1/4 cups of walnuts in the oven for 5-10 minutes at 350
butter and flour two 8 inch cake pans
once they are cooled, crush your walnuts in the food processor with about 2/3 cup of sugar and transfer to a mixing bowl
add 1 stick of butter, cut into pieces, and beat thoroughly
then add 4 large eggs, beating again
last but not least, mix 1/2 cup flour with 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, a few shakes of salt and some allspice in a separate bowl, then beat into the mix
pour into your buttered pans
cook for about 30 minutes at 350, checking to see if a toothpick comes out of the center clean
cool for about 20 minutes in the pan, then flip out of the pans to cool the rest of the way
once cool, decide which half will be your bottom, and spread a thick layer of jam (I used a blackberry/blueberry chunky one) on top
top with the other cake, and serve with a dollop of whipped cream* on top

* to make whipped cream: whisk a small carton of heavy cream until stiff (you can make a ravine with your finger and it stays), add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla and whisk in... done!

Roasted Pears with Goat Cheese

peel, halve and core about 4 pears (any kind)
mix the juice from half a lemon with about a teaspoon of vanilla and in a separate bowl, about 1/3 a cup of sugar with a few shakes of ginger and allspice
drizzle the lemon mixture onto your pears first, then sprinkle with the sugar mixture, finishing the lemons by dotting each one with a small tab of butter
roast at 375 for about 45 minutes, flipping halfway through and occasionally basting with the juices
Serve warm with the cup filled with goat cheese

Clementine Cake

cover about 6-7 small, thin-skinned clementines with water and bring to a boil, then down to a simmer, cooking for about an hour (longer for thicker skinned fruit) until very soft. Take out of the water, and once cool, de-seed and then mush them in your food processor, skins and all
butter and line an 9inch cake pan (I used a square one) with parchment paper, cutting to fit
in your food processor (or by hand), grind about 2 cups of almonds, and mix them in with 1 cup of sugar and 1 teaspoon of baking powder
beat 6 eggs in your mixing bowl, and add in dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly, followed by the clementine pulp
Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes, checking to see that a toothpick comes out clean from the center

Vegan Ethiopian Magic Meal

2010-01-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Diners of the week!

Friday dinner’s is BACK with a vengeance! I am finally done with my grad school applications and realized that, you know, I have friends. So this weekend I invited over some people I know from Amigos de las Americas, a volunteer organization I’ve been working with for about a decade. They’re all wonderful adventurers with great stories, and, more importantly tend to like things like ‘nature’ and ‘vegetarianism’.

Now, because AMIGOS vegetarians have a lot of experience eating in other people’s houses in North, Central and South America while working on development projects (and usually those other people don’t have a ton of extra food to go around) I think they are a little different from other vegetarians because they’ll eat pretty much whatever you put in front of them. That said, when someone says they are “veggie with vegan leanings”, I take them seriously.

And so I present.... a totally vegan Ethiopian feast. Most entertaining part? You lay the ingera (traditional Ethiopian flatbread) on your plate and ladle your stew onto it, then use another piece as a spoon/fork. No silverware needed! I will say, I wasn’t going to make ingera at all because it looked too hard/time-consuming until my wonderful co-worker Jolie suggested just buying some from my local Ethiopian restaurant.... brilliant girl, that Jolie. And I’m pretty sure my hand-purchased bread tasted a lot better than my hand-made would have.

So without further ado, the stews that celebrated international soup day!

Also, these portions could have served eight people.

Green Lentil Stew

• Rinse about 2 cups of lentils then place in a large saucepan with 2 cups of water, 1 large white onion chopped, 6 chopped cloves of garlic, and some generous shakes of red chile. Also add teaspoon, nutmeg, cardamom salt and pepper
• Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes, until lentils and soft and onions have more or less disintegrated. Stir periodically and add more water if needed.
• Add in a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar (or red wine, which is what you’re actually supposed to do and cook for 10 more minutes... add more salt and pepper if needed
• .... keep it cooking for another hour or so if you want, but on a simmer. It will make the lentils nice and soft, and you won’t have to think about them!

Sweet Potato Stew

• Heat some olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté one large chopped onion, 6 pieces of chopped garlic, and about two inches of chopped ginger for 10 minutes, until onion is a nice golden color.
• Add 3-4 chopped sweet potatoes and one roughly red pepper and sauté for 1 min.
• Add a mix of paprika, allspice, cinnamon, coriander, and some ground fenugreek and fry for 1 minute. Don't worry about things sticking to the bottom of the pot. Add 1.5 cups of water to deglaze the pan, then add 2 tomatoes, half a cup of lentils, and two big handfuls of chopped green beans. Mix well.
• Bring to bubbling, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at least 30 minutes, until lentils and potatoes are soft. Stir occasionally. It is even better of you can let it cook on a low heat for an hour or two. Add more water if stew gets too thick.
• Stir in a handful of parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper

Eggplant Stew

• Heat a large non-stick pan (cast iron preferred) over medium heat. Add in 3 smallish red onions (chopped) onions and fry for 30 minutes, stirring regularly, until a nice golden brown. When onions stick too much, deglaze the pan with a splash or two of water.
• Add in 3 chopped cloves of garlic, about an inch of chopped ginger, and a mixture of allspice, pepper, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, paprika, and chile powder (also known as a bastardized version of berbere, which is a real Ethiopian thing) and mix well, until spices are fragrant.
• Add in ¼ cup of margarine. When it melts, add one large carrot (diced) and one large eggplant (thinly sliced). Fry for 5-7 minutes, until eggplant begins to soften.
• Add two tomatoes, about 1.5 cups of water, and two handfuls of chopped green beans and mix well. Bring to bubbling, then loosely cover and let simmer. The lentils will cook in 20 to 30 minutes, but you can cook longer. Salt and pepper to taste.

Happy dining (and soup day!) friends!

Timbale, Hey!

2009-11-17T12:22:00.000-08:00

Dinner Menu:
Arugula Salad with apples
Roasted Acorn Squash with brown sugar and butter
Timbale with Smokey Roasted Tomato and Chile Sauce
Banana Cake

Figuring this stuff out isn't easy. A glance into our heads:

me: name for friday's dinner? for the post

Alayna: oh Timbale Hey!

not oh timbale...

just

Timbale! (Rhymes with Hey!)

i dont' knwo

or dinner

me: got it

Alayna: i know

MY BABY GOT SAUCE

me: uhm, we'll see

Alayna: like the song

me: yeah, got it

Alayna: c'mon

me: i can't believe that was your blog title break through idea

Might not be the best title but this dinner is da bomb diggity. Everyone should roast an acorn squash for dinner, it makes your dinner plate look really pretty and it's cheap and it's delicious. What more could you possibly want?

I encourage you to copy this dinner party and impress you're own friends.

Timbale with Smokey Roasted Tomato and Chile Sauce

Grate one small (or half of a large) zucchini with a cheese grater, then put into a colander and toss with salt. Let sit for half an hour then squeeze out the excess water before using
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and then add one finely chopped yellow onion, followed by the kernels from 3 ears of sweet corn and small handfuls of chopped parsley and cilantro, followed by the zucchini
Add 4 shots of tequila (or 1/4 cup of white wine) and let it simmer until the liquid has cooked off, add a small handful of chopped parsley and cilantro to the sauce when it's simmering
Beat 5 eggs in a separate bowl, adding 2/3 a cup of heavy cream, adding the vegetables when they have cooled and a few shakes of hot pepper, black pepper and salt
Pour the mixture into a deep 8 inch souffle pan (I used an 8 in baking dish instead) that is liberally coated in butter and bread crumbs
Cook at 325 for about 45 minutes (the top should be golden brown and the custard should not shake if you tap the center)
Let cool for a few minutes before serving

Smokey Roasted Sauce

Cut 6-8 very ripe tomatoes in half and place face down on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven at 350 for about half an hour until skins peel of easily and bottoms are a little burnt
In a separate dish, cut the tops off two cloves of garlic and place them in a pan with 4-5 dry passilla peppers. Put in the oven (I did this while the timbale and squash were cooking) and take the chiles out when they have puffed up (about 15 min) and the garlic out when it is good and soft
When everything has cooled a little, peel the garlic and de-seed the chiles, blending the mixture in a food processor, then put in a saucepan at a low simmer until you're ready to serve it on top of the timbale

Arugula Salad

Cut up two apples (I used one red delicious and I believe a braeburn... you want things that are crisp and tangy!) and put on a generous bed of arugula with a sprinkling of hazelnuts
For the dressing, mix grapeseed oil with balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary and a dash of cinnamon to taste.... dress right before serving

Roasted Acorn Squash

Halve acorn squashes (one half per guest), empty out the seeds with a spoon and put in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (longer if you cook them at 325 with the timbale)... they are finished when you can easily stick a fork through the flesh
Serve with butter and brown sugar so guests can season to taste

Banana Cake

Preheat the oven to 350
Cream 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup of white sugar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy
Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time
Mash 4 ripe bananas thoroughly and add to the mix
In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of floor with 1 tablespoon of baking soda with some salt, about 2 teaspoons of black pepper and some cinnamon
If you don't have buttermilk on hand (who does?) make it by adding about a tablespoon of lemon juice (half a lemon) to heavy cream and letting it sit for five minutes
Beat in the flour and milk mixtures thoroughly by alternating between the two
Stir in about half a cup of hazelnuts, half a cup of macadamia nuts, and a handful of craisins
Bake for 40 minutes until top is browned and a toothpick comes out of the middle clean
Serve with home-made whipped cream (mix some whipping cream with an eggbeater until you can make a ditch with your finger that holds, then add a teaspoon of vanilla and sugar to taste)

End of Summer Delight

2009-10-14T09:41:00.000-07:00

A sad sad sad end of summer dinner, even though the company was lovely. Our menu was bacon wrapped prunes, roasted tomato and zucchini tart, a spinach salad, sweet potato mashed potatoes and apple cobbler for dessert. Overall, there was a touch of autumn, but the the flavor of summery goodness. AND my brand new dish set has been broken in! So here it is, our end of summer dinner party...

Bacon-Wrapped Prunes

Wrap each dried prune in about half a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick
Place on a tin-foil covered baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 10-12 minutes (until bacon is crispy)
Serve!

Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Tart:

First, thinly slice a large onion and saute in olive oil over low heat to carmelize (this will take a while, so let it hang out while you're preparing the other veggies). In the last few minutes you'll add about 3 cloves of thinly chopped garlic
Pre-heat oven to 375 and slice up 2 medium zucchini in thinish rounds and 3-4 plum tomatoes. Lay them on baking sheets and, using a pastry brush, lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper before roasting them in the oven for about 10 minutes per side (are ready when the zuch is golden brown)
While your veggies are roasting, make your crust (same crust as the summer tomato tart! It's just so delicious!

Pulse 1 stick of cold butter (sliced), 1.5 cups of flour, some salt, lemon zest from one lemon & .5 cup of Parmesan cheese together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand. When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).
Roll the dough out to about a 12 in circle (or any other shape... we did a rectangle!) Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a greased pan. If your crust breaks in the move (like ours did), just push the pieces back together with your fingers on the baking tray
Put the carmelized onion and garlic onto the tart crust, then arrange the roasted zucchini and tomato nicely, and slice about half of a big ball of mozerella to layer on the top with some fresh thyme leaves. Leave about an inch from the edge of the crust so that you can fold and pinch it up to keep all the juices in. Pinch closed any weak spots or holes and bake for about 30-40 minutes (crust should be golden brown before you take it out)
Let cool a little and serve!

Sweet Potato Mash

Boil peeled sweet potatos
Drain and mash them, adding a little salt, some fresh goat cheese and a brown sugar to taste

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing

For salad, toss baby spinach, walnuts, red grapes and fresh goat cheese
For the dressing, mix balsamic vinegar, stone mustard (or any mustard), olive oil, a dash of cinamon and some rosemary with a touch of sugar or honey. Let sit for a little while and adjust to taste.

Apple Cobbler

Thinly slice some apples and place in a baking dish
Mix about 1/2 a cup of sugar, with 3 tablespoons of flour and some sprinkles of dry ginger and cinnamon. Pour over the apples in your baking dish
mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 a cup of flour with some more shakes of cinnamon, then cut in about 6 tablespoons of butter until it looks like chunky bits (not too big, but there shouldn't be dry mix left behind)
sprinkle onto the apples and cook at 375 farenheit for about 45 minutes

Ceviche & Elephant mugs et al.

2009-09-03T07:57:00.000-07:00

Oh, we know we know we know... we haven't given you a Friday dinner in forever, and now that we are, it's a cheat, because it's easier to make on Saturday (ceviche has to sit for a while!).

But! You'll be happy to know that it was a wonderful dinner. Highlights included (but were not limited to) cooking with acid (as in, lime juice), the premier of my elephant mugs, Carrie and Amal figuring out how to make a free clear plastic poncho look hot, and general wonderfulness.

And we promise now that people are trickling back into town for their weekends, we'll be much better at updating.

Without further ado, a four part dinner for your pescatarian friends!

watermelon salad

before you start the salad, mix a few glugs of balsamic vinegar (basically as much salad dressing as you need) and a big spoonful of honey. if you are fancy, you can reduce this concoction. if you are tired, you can just give it a bit of time to dissolve, stirring occasionally
take one bag of arugula, and put it in a bowl
chop about 1/4 of a big seedless watermelon (or half of a small) into bite-sized pieces, and put onto the arugula
top with feta cheese and your dressing

asparagus

cut the very bottom of the stems off of a bunch or two of asparagus, and then chop the remaining stems in half (so they fit better and are easier to stir)
put into a big flat pan with a little (about an 1/8 inch) water on the bottom, and cook on medium heat, stirring occassionally, until all of the asparagi(??) are bright green
turn off the stove and drain the water
add a few tabs of butter in the pan with a few spoonfuls of capers and caper juice and the juice of one lemon. to be fancy, serve with lemon slices on top

ceviche

cut about a pound and a quarter of grey sole fillets (or any other white fish) into bite sized pieces and put into a bowl... not too big or they'll need to "cook" longer
cover with fresh lime juice (about 10 limes)
add the following, all diced, and stir: half a red pepper, a jalepeno pepper (or two, if you like spicey), a handful of cilantro, about half a small red onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic
top off with some salt and pepper, and let sit in the refrigerator covered for at least 3 hours
when the fish is done being "cooked", it looks just like regular fish! white and opaque... if eating alone, it can be eaten on saltines or tostados, on leftover rice and beans or plain

rice and beans

for six people, I made about a cup (dry) of rice.... the ration for rice is 1c rice to 2c water
in a medium pan, sautee 5-6 cloves of garlic, the other half of your red onion, and some chili pepper
once they transparent, add 2 cans of drained black beans
toss in 1-2 chopped tomatos and a handful of chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper, and simmer slowly for as long as possible so all the flavors mix without the beans getting too soupy
serve on top of the rice!

blueberry cobbler

in a mixing bowl, cover 2 boxes of blueberries with about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour and some sprinkles of allspice and stir until coated. pour into your pie pan
mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 a cup of flour with some more shakes of allspice, then cut in about 6 tablespoons of butter until it looks like chunky bits (not too big, but there shouldn't be dry mix left behind)
sprinkle onto the blueberries and cook at 400 farenheit for about 30 minutes
eat! maybe with ice cream?

Enjoy!

Friendly Fajitas

2009-06-22T17:10:00.000-07:00

Alayna called me to tell me to come home because she was having a dinner party but sadly I had to tell her I was on the LIRR headed to a house with a pool and secret hiding closets.

Still I was sad I missed it. And I was REALLY sad when I saw these pictures. How good does this look? Mexican & Vegetarian wonders!

By the way, sorry I have to interject. Are Alayna and I the only ones on earth who watch "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here?" We started watching because all the shows we used to watch during soup night had their season finales. I just want to give a shout out right now to Holly and Sanjaya. My new all time favorite couple. I'm not kidding. I think Holly might be kicked off because she can't drink the Dung Beetle Nut daiquiri that fast and Alayna can testify that I'm sort of teary-eyed.

Right. This meal is NOT made of Dung Beetle Nuts. So there's that.
Okay friends, lets eat!

AMAZING FAJITAS OF AMAZINGNESS (AKA PORTOBELLA MUSHROOMS)

first wrap your tortillas (the big kind) in a slightly damp, clean dishtowel and heat the oven to 250, popping them in on a cookie sheet, so that they get warm without getting dry
slice up 6-8 cloves of garlic and coarsely chop about half a red onion and saute in olive oil, adding a couple of red (hot) peppers, chili powder, AND, the secret ingredient, a couple of shakes of CINNAMON
add a sliced up zucchini, cut into 1/2s or 1/4s and cover pot (keep covered through-out)
add about 3 mushrooms (I keep everything but the very end of the stem) cut into pinky width slices
add in half a pepper each of red, yellow and green (or any combination)
once everything is cooked through, take out your tortillas and serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and the guac!

GUACAMOLEEEE

cut two avocados into fourths, then slice the fourths and pop the avocado out into a bowl
finely dice 4-6 cloves of garlic and throw in
finely dice about 2 pinky-wide rings of red onion and toss them in too!
do the same to about 1/2 a red pepper
and some plum or cherry tomatoes
toss in some coarsely chopped cilantro while you're at it (some people... eg, Bagel, dislike cilantro... apparently it can taste like soap to people with certain genes, so you might want to get a gene check on your guests before they come)
squeeze the juice from 2 limes into your bowl
add some salt and pepper
now MASH! or make your nearest available, most hyper-est guest do it if you are too lazy to cook before people get to your house because you are a collaborative person who like sharing in the experience, as well as the food ;)

PLATANOS MADUROS

get the blackest plantains you can find (the blacker they are, the sweeter, which means more caramelized awesomeness)
slice into pointer finger thickness, and place into the frying pan of olive oil while the oil heats up
flip fairly frequently so that they don't get burnt and take out when they're a nice golden brown (or black for more carmelizyness)
can be served plain, or with fresh goat cheese. both are delicious. one is fancier.

Oooh, Alayna, nice plate!

Summer Starter Dinner

2009-06-01T15:41:00.001-07:00

What a lovely dinner we have for you! It's a super light and healthy but a highly satisfying meal. I'm a pretty big fan. This dinner was sparked because Lindsay had flown in from London for the weekend... I pretty much just mentioned that because it sounds so cool... Which was fun and overshadowed the fact that our dearest third mate Kate was moving out. Off to sunnier skies and better produce. Sigh.

It also came out that Kate had no idea Friday Dinner's blog exists which was hard for me to understand as I'm pretty sure it's the only thing Alayna I talk about, minus the cat.

Okay, ready, set, go:

Baked Salmon, Arugula Awesome, Mango, Strawberry & Mint Salad, AND CousCous Crazy

I know, what exciting names! And four courses! But it's so easy. What a dream. Read on.

Lauren Cook, a mango and Alayna. Whipping together the fruit/mint salad. Lauren, I have to admit, is still the winner for most enthusiastic Monday Soup fan. The competition is on-going, but Lauren is doing pretty darn well. (Example: Opening the door for Gavin and introducing herself this way: "Hi, I'm Lauren, you may recognize me from the Monday Soup's blog."

This has nothing to do with dinner. I'm just showing off my dress.

Slicing the mangoes.

Setting the table! So many goblets!

Eating!!

Here We Go:

Baked Salmon:

Put salmon in a pyrex dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the salmon, and then sprinkle with thyme. Cook at 375 for about 30 min. When fish is cooked through, it should flake away easily with a fork and be a consistent pink color all the way through.

CousCous Crazy:

Make couscous according to instructions. Once it is cooked through, add a handful of chopped parsley, about half a red onion (chopped), 2 roma tomatoes (chopped) and chopped red pepper (about half a pepper). Stir in a big bowl and serve.

Arugula Awesome:

Cut a large gala (or other type... preferably crispy!) apple into bite size slices and put onto a bed of arugula. Shred parmesean-romano cheese on top (i like a lot). For salad dressing, mix the juice from half a lemon, about a spoonful of honey, and a tiny splash of olive oil (about 1tsp)... mix well and then toss into salad. The lemon will keep the apple slices from browning so you can make ahead.

Mango, Strawberry & Mint Salad:

Wash and cut up mangoes, strawberries and mint. Mix them in a bowl. Delicious.

For dessert we had Rhubarb Crisp, thanks to Lindsay's magic. Lindsay add the recipe as a comment to this post so we can all copy the recipe and eat that wonderful thing again. Thank you.

That is the end of Rhubarb Crisp.

I'll leave you with a series I call, "How I look when I describe the stabbing I witnessed on our street yesterday."

Tomato Tart & Veggie Friends

2009-05-18T17:30:00.000-07:00

Want to impress the veggie lovers in your life? Want to impress the stubborn eaters in your life who might eat red meat one too many times a month? Want to impress them all at the same time?

This is your tart.

This dinner party happened last week with Alayna and her lady folk and then I repeated it when my parents and extended family came over for brunch. All parties were impressed. And see that, this is both a good dinner and a good brunch. Excellent.

And it's easy to make-- even if it's 10am on a Saturday and you're a little hungover like I might have been and you're entire family is about to bust into your apartment and you are still in your pajamas-- whatever the circumstances, you will impress someone.

Here we go: Tomato Tart*, Veggie Salad & Spinach and Mushrooms

*Tomato Tart is a slightly modified version of Meredith's tart. Thanks Meredith.

Pastry:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. ice water

Filling:
1 1/2 to 2 tbspn dijon mustard
2 tbspn Parmesan cheese
small handful of chopped basil
some shakes of thyme
small handful of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
6-8 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 tbspn olive oil
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tspn water

Pulse the butter, flour, salt, lemon zest & Parmesan together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand. When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).

Preheat the over to 425. Roll the dough out on a floured surface to make a 12 inch circle. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (NOTE! PARCHMENT PAPER IS NOT THE SAME AS WAX PAPER... we discovered this once the smell of burning started coming out of the oven and ended up transferring everything to a pie pan to prevent fire. Meredith says you can also just use a greased pan if you don't have parchment). Using a pastry brush, spread the mustard over the surface, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border. Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Mix all the herbs and the salt & pepper in a bowl. Arrange half of tomato slices over the mustard and sprinkle with half of the herb mixture. Repeat. Fold the edge of the pastry over the tomatoes, and pinch any cracks to keep juices in while baking. Drizzle with olive oil. Brush crust with yolk mixture. Bake for20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown. Let rest for 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Salad!

Cut up cucumber, avocado, tomato and red/yellow peppers if you have them, mix with a handful of chopped fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic

Optional addition: I added some mango and it was awesome.

Mushrooms & Spinach

Slice 4-6 cloves of garlic and saute on low heat in walnut or olive oil in a big pot. After about a minute, add in a box of sliced baby bella (or really any type) of mushrooms and saute until they start to cook through. Once the mushrooms are getting softer, add in a bag of spinach and stir to distribute oil. Cover and let cook slowly, stirring occasionally. Add rock salt to tast.

Happy Tomato Tarts.

PS I wanted to post the after pictures of this dinner party but Alayna didn't let me. But let me say, tart makes people crazzzzy.

Penne a la Vodka, Salad & Fruit & Cream

2009-05-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

Mmm. Hmm. Scratching your head are we? Thinking to yourself, boy, does that pot of sauce sure look like that tomato soup Monday's Soup made in February of this year?

Sure does.

Sure done does.

This is how soup is so brilliant. It can be more than one thing. Watch as we impress a room full of ladies with a sauce that is actually a soup.

Nooo you didn't.

Yes we did.

Girls had no idea. Suckers.

Who knew our apartment was so big?

Well, Alayna and I do after she made me tape measure the whole thing.

Anyone want to sublet a room?

Right. So here are the girls. Drinking wine, swapping stories of people peeing on the subways (other people) and the ilk.

Pasta is cooking. Sauce is simmering. Folks are relaxing.

(It's late right now. And I think I'm delirious. But I'd be too sad for Lauren Cook if I didn't post this by tomorrow.)

And it's time to eat. I do believe Kate Zimmer said something along the lines of, "How many helping can I eat and still wear a waistband tonight?"

Is that even true? I swear you said something like that.

And I had three helpings.

But I NEVER wear waistbands.

Lauren Cook, ladies and gentlemen. Monday's Soup fan of the week.

Looks like some good times.

Alayna makes whipping cream in the corner.

That's where the blender is. When you live in Manhattan you do things like this.

And then we started playing cat in the bag.

You can't see. But there is a cat in the bag.

Hmmm. What's in that ole rain boot?

Why it's a cat!

Okay, I know, what did we make already. Here you go...

Penne a la Vodka (or pasta with tomato soup but that does NOT sound fancy)

Ingredients

2 big cans of crushed tomatoes
6- 8 cloves of garlic chopped
red pepper (like the spice not the vegetable)
heavy cream
olive oil
a bunch of basil, chopped

Now Do This...

Saute chopped garlic in big soup bowl.
Add a generous portion of red pepper.
When sauteed dump in the two cans of crushed tomatoes and stir
Add the basil (a lot of basil)
Let simmer for about 30 minutes
Add as much heavy cream as desired, depending on your tomato soup cream preference and cook about five more minutes, then turn off... i like to let it cool a little before it's served so it thickens a little
serve with penne pasta

SALAD:
spinach, seedless red grapes, chopped walnuts and chopped almonds
dressing:

olive oil, a large spoonful of mustard (not yellow, but any of the other kinds), a small spoonful of sugar and 2-3 caps of white vinegar
adjust to your own taste, stir with a fork and let sit for at least 10 min before serving

DESSERT:
blackberries, blueberries and strawberries
whipped cream:

mix heavy cream and about 1 tablespoon of vanilla either in the blender on "aerate" or by hand with a whisk. NOTE: the cream should be cold to do this! otherwise it won't foam!
once the cream is stiff, add sugar to taste (don't need much) and serve!

THANK GOODNESS FOR AIR HOLES!

Impress the Ladies with an Almost Carb-less Quiche

2009-04-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

When Alayna's lady friends requested a low-carb dinner, Alayna had to write to me at work to ask what that meant. No bread sort of horrifies me but the idea of a dinner party challenge was pretty exciting.

Alayna decided on "Almost-No Carb Salmon Quiche, Yams and Salad."

Alayna got home from work around 6-ish. Napped. Woke up and began cooking around 7pm. Guest arrived around 7:45pm. Carrie asked in astonishment, when she walked into our highly cozy apartment with a set table and food coming out of the oven, How long have you been cooking?

Not so long.

Let's begin:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 F

In a large saute pan, heat 2 tbsp of butter

2 chopped leeks

1 bunch of skinny asparagus cut into small pieces

1 or 2 caps of portabello mushrooms

While this sautes whisk, in a separate bowl, 1 and 1/2 cups of regular milk

with 1/2 cup of half and half and

4 eggs

Add 2 generous spoonfuls of pesto

Butter up a pie pan

Lightly coat it with dried bread crumbs (hence, the "Almost" No-carbs quiche. This is important though otherwise the eggs will stick to the pan)

Once your sauteing veggies are crispy but mostly cooked through pour them in the pie pan like this:

Lovely.

Now...

Cut up a 14 ounce packet of smoked salmon

Add salmon tears to the veggies

And finally pour the milk mixture on top of that.

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until the middle has set.

Take out and let cool for a few minutes before serving.

Now for the salad...

Mix together whatever you want, spinach, baby tomatoes, carrots, radishes, zucchini.

You know, whatever you have sitting around.

To impress with an easy Home Made Salad Dressing mix together (to taste):

balsamic vinegar with olive oil

Add stone ground mustard

a pinch of sugar

and a few sprinkles of fresh rosemary

Alayna also boiled yams and mixed them with Saint Andres cheese (this can be substituted for mild fresh goat cheese).

Look how impressed they are.