Tomato Corn Biscuit Pie

The beautiful tomatoes we received this week, along with the fresh corn from Corrales at the farmer's market made me want to try this recipe from a favorite Santa Fe restaurant, Harry's Roadhouse. Harry put out a cook book in 2006: Harry's Roadhouse Cookbook.


2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons cornstarch
21/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons pepper
1 batch biscuit dough (recipe on another entry)
4 tomatoes, cut in thick slices
11/2 cups grated good-quality sharp cheddar cheese
11/2 cups fresh corn
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
2 tablespoons butter, melted


In a small bowl, mix together lemon juice mayonnaise, cornstarch, salt, and pepper. Set aside.

Divide biscuit dough in half. Roll out half and fit it into the bottom of a 9-inch pie pan. Lay half of the tomato slices in the bottom of pie shell. Top with half of the cheese, corn, and herbs. Then top with the remaining tomatoes, cheese, corn, and herbs. Spread mayonnaise mixture over the top.

Roll out the remaining biscuit dough and cover the top of the pie. Roll the top and bottom edges of the dough together. Cut off any excess and pinch the sides closed with a fork. Cut six silts in the top of the pie. Brush with melted butter and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F. The crust should be golden brown. Let cool for ten minutes before cutting.

**Delicious. The tangy of the sauce with the sweet of the vegies and buttery biscuits...mmmm. Next time I'll add less salt and cut the tomatoes into chunks. Oh- and I didn't have tarragon so I didn't add it.

Grilled eggplant topped with caprese

While I was looking through local food IQ, I ran across this recipe. It is from Dave DeWitt's column, Playing with Fire.

Grilled Eggplants Topped with Caprese 
Eggplants come in a variety of shapes and sizes and this year I planted the long and slender Japanese eggplants, so I’m going to have to slice them in half lengthwise to grill them. Caprese is usually a salad with mozzarella cheese, but here it’s going to be a dressing for the grilled eggplant slices.

For the caprese:
1 Large ripe tomato, seeded and minced
5 oz. Mozzarella cheese, cut into a 1/4-inch dice
8 Fresh basil leaves, minced
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
2 Tbsp. Fresh lemon or lime juice
Salt and pepper to taste
For the eggplants:
4 Small Japanese eggplants, sliced lengthwise (peeling optional)
2 Tbsp. Coarse sea salt
3 Tbsp. Olive oil
3 tsp. Fresh oregano, minced
1 tsp. Coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp. Hot red chile flakes
3 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp. Italian parsley, minced

To make the caprese, combine the tomato, mozzarella, basil, olive oil and salt and pepper in a bowl and set aside in the refrigerator until needed. After the eggplant is grilled, add the lemon or lime juice and gently mix everything together.

To prepare the eggplants, sprinkle the salt over the eggplant slices and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse the slices and dry with paper towels. In a bowl, combine the oregano, black pepper, chile flakes, garlic and parsley. Brush olive oil over both sides of the slices and sprinkle them with the mixed spices.

Grill the eggplant slices over medium heat for five to eight minutes per side, depending on their thickness, then remove from the grill and transfer to a serving plate. Allow the slices to cool to room temperature, top with the caprese dressing and serve.

Yield: 4 servings • Heat scale: Medium

**This was delicious!

Poached Salmon Salad with Lemon Dill Dressing

Got inspired by a greek salad on the Martha Stewart website.

Lettuce
Tomatoes
Avocado
Cucumber
Poached Salmon

Dressing:
2 T olive oil
2 T lemon juice
1/2 t dill (used dried)
1/4 t coarse sea salt

Spinach Bread Pudding with Lemon and Feta

With a lot of family coming into town for graduation, I need a good breakfast casserole for one of our meals together. I saw this recipe in Food and Wine and decided to give it a try. It seemed lighter than many breakfast casseroles that I have seen. I have yet to find one that I would make twice. So I'll make this one in advance...just to check!

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for greasing the dish
8 ounces whole wheat bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
5 ounces baby spinach, finely chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
6 large eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 teaspoon chopped oregano

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Lightly oil a medium baking dish. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, until dry but not browned. Let cool, then transfer to a large bowl. Stir in the spinach and 1/4 cup of the feta.
2. In another bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of the olive oil with the mustard, lemon zest and lemon juice. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Add the milk and season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Pour the egg mixture over the bread cubes and stir until they are evenly moistened. Transfer the bread mixture to the baking dish and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours or refrigerate overnight.
3. Sprinkle the remaining feta on the bread pudding and bake in the center of the oven until risen and set, about 40 minutes. Turn on the broiler. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and broil until the bread pudding is golden and crispy on top, about 2 minutes. Scatter the oregano on top, cut into squares and serve. 

**Very nice. It took twice as long to cook it. I will definitely serve this for brunch. 

Quinoa Tabouli Salad with Chickpeas

One of my favorite summer salads. I used to use bulgher until wheat became an allergy issue in this house. Now I use quinoa and love it. This recipe comes from The New Moosewood Cookbook. I found the recipe on-line on the food.com website . However, what you see below is how I've adapted it over the years. Depending on what is in season, I'll add the tomatoes or if I have kalamati olives, I'll add them. I usually add chickpeas for the protein.

• 1 1/2 cups quinoa
• 3 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• pepper
• 3 scallions, finely minced
• 1/2 cup minced flat-leaf parsley, packed
• 8- 10 mint leaves, minced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced or 4 roma tomatoes,diced
• 1/2 cucumber,  minced

1. Cook the quinoa in the water for about 15 minutes or until the liquid has been absorbed.Fluff up the quinoa.
2. Emulsify the lemon juice and oil. Then mix in the salt, garlic, pepper, and scallions.
3. Chill for 30 minutes.
4. Before serving, add the rest of the ingredients.

 

 **Delicious, as always.

**Made a different time, with black olives, tomatoes, and carrots.

Chicken Escalopes

This is a great recipe- easy and fast. I got it from one of my favorite sites in New Zealand, Cuisine.

For the spiced butter:
100g butter, softened (7 tablespoons)
1 T cumin
1/2 t nutmeg
peel of 1/4 preserved lemon, finely diced
juice of 1/2 lemon

For the chicken:
4 skinless chicken breasts
3-4 T flour
1 t sweet smoked paprika
small pinch of chili powder
2 T olive oil

Place the butter in a small bowl and blend in the remaining ingredients and set aside.

To prepare the escalopes, place each chicken breast between sheets of plastic wrap or waxed paper. With a heavy rolling pin, flatten out the flesh evenly to around 1 cm thick (little less than 1/2 inch). Set aside.

Sieve the flour, paprika and chili powder together to make a pink dust. Set aside.

Place the olive oil in a heavy frying pan and add half the butter mixture. While it heats, dip 2 chicken breasts in the paprika flour, shake off any excess and immediately fry for 2 minutes in the foaming butter. Turn over and cook on the second side for 1 further minute. Remove to a warmed dish and cover while you fry the other 2 escalopes.

Place the chicken on a serving platter and melt the remaining butter on it.

 ** This is a quick dish. Very tasty. Don't skimp on the salt. I didn't add more of the seasoned butter at the end.