Category: dinner

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Plum Goat Cheese Tart

A couple of weeks ago we went to the swap meet and thought it was a good idea to buy five pounds of plums before trying them. They were chalky and gross and never ripened. Luckily, I am quite the problem solver especially when it comes to all things food related. In one of the most magical transformations I’ve ever participated in, plum jam was created.

plum jam:

  • 10 plums (don’t worry if they’re unripe and tasteless, it’ll be better if they are tasty but it’s not absolutely necessary as evidenced by the swap meet fiasco)
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  1. Slice plums and heat, covered, on medium-low heat with lemon juice.
  2. Let cook undisturbed for 10 minutes, then stir in honey and cinnamon
  3. tilt lid up to let out some moisture and continue to cook, stirring occasionally until desired consistency is reached

This jam is great on toast, yogurt or cottage cheese as well. I think I am going to make baked brie w/ it tomorrow night. This tart was a wonderful and easy dinner/dessert. Puff pastry is a great pantry (er freezer) staple to have on hand because of its’ versatility and scrumptious-ness.

plum jam, goat cheese tart:

  • 1 sheet puff pastry
  • 1 cup plum jam (link)
  • 1/2 cup goat cheese

  1. pre-heat oven to 400°F, thaw puff pastry and roll out on lined baking sheet
  2. poke middle with a fork, leaving a 1 inch border, sprinkle with 1/2 the goat cheese and bake at 400° F for 10 minutes or until it starts to turn gold
  3. remove and spread the jam in an even layer over the middle part then sprinkle the rest of the goat cheese on top, continue baking, about 1o minutes, or until cheese melts and crust turns golden

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Chickpea Salad

This was another cold salad born out of necessity during this weekend’s heat wave. Chick pea is “pois chiche” in French, I think it’s one of my favorite French words, next to champignon (mushroom) and pamplemousse (grapefruit). My friend asked me what my favorite French words were, while studying abroad, and when I told him this list, he was like “of course they’re all foods!” I hadn’t even noticed.

  • 1 can garbanzos/chick peas
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (maybe more depending on the consistency of your tahini)
  • 2 handfuls spinach
  • 1/2 green bell pepper
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 2 roasted carrots
  • 2 tsp yellow curry powder
  • 1/2 lemon
  1. drain garbanzos
  2. chop spinach, bell pepper and carrots
  3. add garbanzos and veggies to a medium size bowl and stir in curry powder, tahini and red wine vinegar
  4. squeeze lemon juice into bowl, depending on how thick your tahini is (they vary brand to brand), you may need to add more red wine vinegar if it’s too globby (yes it’s a word, I read it in my Biopshychology book today, describing the cervical cortex)

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Tuna Veggy Salad

I really love tuna. Not tuna soaked in mayo though, that takes the fun out of it. I like to chop up fruits and veggies and make a lighter, fresher salad, just like my mom’s. This was another recipe born out of bountiful produce and a mighty appetite.

  • 1 can tuna
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1/2 large tomato
  • 2 tbsp mustard
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 2 handfuls spinach
  • 1 lg carrot
  • 1/2 onion (red or white)
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 10 red grapes
  • healthy dose of capers
  1. drain tuna
  2. chop celery, peel carrot then slice along with the tomato, onion and spinach and halve the grapes
  3. add it all to a bowl and mix

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Pickled Zucchini and Plums

It is ridiculously hot in SLO right now. Yesterday I sat at home and studied all day but somehow still ended up feeling gritty like I had been strolling the streets of NYC on a summer day, thanks to the steady layer of sweat I kept up until well after sunset..even though I was stationed under the fan, with breaks only to make trips to the little girls room and to the freezer to remove and refill glasses of water. At one point I realized the reason my laptop was moving at the pace of an elderly snail, was probably because the poor thing was hotter than the outside temperature, meaning well over 100. I put it in the fridge. Not like I was getting much done. Heat is definitely not conductive to productivity. Anyways my friend was coming over for dinner but the thought of cooking ANYTHING sounded horrendous so I made a few cold salad-y things that required minimal effort and used up some of our surplus produce.

We got zucchini in our CSA this week, much to my chagrin. I’ve never been a fan and neither is my roommate. This was a big stress on my conscience this week…knowing that I’d have to mask those stupid zucchinis, also knowing it was going to be way too hot to cook anything this weekend unless dinner prep could wait til 8:00 when it finally starts cooling off. But we’re busy girls so this  is not feasible. I decided to  pickle them because as you know if you’ve seen this Portlandia clip, pickling is the solution if you’re in a pickle.

  • 2 zucchinis
  • 1 1/2 plums
  • 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 1/2 cup water
  1.  cut zucchinis in halves and grate them long ways using a carrot grater
  2. slice plums thinly
  3. lay zucchini and plums in a small casserole kind of dish and sprinkle sugar and salt over
  4. pour vinegar and water over
  5. let marinate for an hour and stir a little, adding more vinegar if it looks like it needs more moisture

I also have made Pickled Carrots TWICE this week because pickled carrots are especially great. We also had 3 bunches of them.

And here are some pickled onions for good measure.

 

 

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Truffle Gnocchi w/ Brown Butter Sage Sauce

  • 1/2 a shallot
  • 3 pats butter
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 15 sage leaves
  • 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes (golden go especially well)
  • 1 pack gnocchi
  • 1/2 tsp. salt (for pasta water)
  1. boil water for gnocchi and follow directions on package
  2. heat 2 pats butter and add sage leaves, cook at low temperature, flipping leaves occasionally until butter bubbles a bit and sage starts to crisp up and turn brown
  3. remove sage leaves, add another pat butter and 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil, slice shallots thinly and add them to the pan when butter melts, cook on medium low heat until shallots start to soften and add tomatoes, continue cooking until tomatoes start to pop and shallots are caramelized
  4. after draining gnocchi, drizzle w/ olive oil, add sage leaves, shallots and tomatoes and serve

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Goat Cheese and Apricot-Jalapeno Pizza with Cauliflower Crust

One of the greatest things about SLO is the farmers’ market. And one of the best things at the farmers market is apricot jalapeno jam. As if we weren’t titillated enough, once we took it home and tried it with goat cheese, we were addicted. We started going through a jar, a week. I’d been wanting to try a cauliflower pizza crust and we had a giant cauliflower sitting around in the fridge looking for a purpose. Then, last week on our first farmers market outing, we were reunited with the prized jam, then on our first Costco outing we stocked up on goat cheese (obviously). This pizza was the result.

  • 1 large head of cauliflower
  • 1/4 cup apricot-jalapeno jam (you can sub another kind of jam i suppose)
  • 1/4 cup goat cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • pepper and salt
  1. cut cauliflower into smaller pieces, then blend in food processor into a rice-like consistency
  2. spread on a baking sheet and bake at 375°F for 20 minutes
  3. let cool for a bit then move cauliflower into cheese cloth or a thin dish cloth
  4. squeeze as much liquid out of it as possible, it should be about 1 cup
  5. then add the eggs, chopped rosemary, pepper and salt and mix with hands
  6. spread on the baking sheet again and bake for 20 more minutes until starting to turn brown
  7. spread jam over (leaving a 2 cm border around the edges) and sprinkle goat cheese as evenly as possible on top

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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White Wine Mushroom Sauce smothered Polenta

POLENTA! So easy and comforting. Mix in some sharp cheese and slow-cooked, white-wine mushrooms and you’ve got quite a meal.

  • 8 oz crimini mushrooms
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 5  sage leaves, chopped
  • 1 sprig rosemary, chopped
  • 1/2 lb polenta
  • 1 squirt mustard
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup goat cheese
  • salt
  • pepper

  1. bring 1 quart water to boil, add polenta, follow directions (varies)
  2. concurrently heat garlic and olive oil over low heat in a non-stick skillet
  3. slice mushrooms and add after 1 minute, add a bit of water then the white wine and let it cook down until mushrooms soften
  4. small sage, chopped in small pieces
  5. once the polenta is cooked, add goat cheese and rosemary and stir until melty and incorporated
  6. add mustard, salt and pepper to mushrooms and cook until desired consistency
  7. ladle mushrooms and sauce over polenta

if there happens to be any polenta leftover the next morning here’s an idea:Leftover Polenta Brekky

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Salmon with Roasted Mustard Potatoes

Tonight marks the first night of being upperclassmen in college. Yoykes. In honor of this right of passage we are making salmon, that my roommates’ dad caught, for dinner. Just like freshman year when we were the weirdos dressing salmon with olive oil and garlic at our dorm desks and gingerly carrying it over to the communal kitchen to hopefully find a clean pan or tray and not be bothered while we cooked and enjoyed our feast… Except for now we have a super cute and completely equipped kitchen. It’s going to be a good year.

 

  • 1 lb baby potatoes
  • 3 sprigs rosemary
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • 3 tbsp dijon mustard
  • few grinds black pepper
  • sea salt
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic
  • 1 thick, 8 in slice of salmon
  1. cut lemon into slices then into half-moons
  2. lay lemons flat in the pan then pour potatoes over
  3. keep garlic in skin and wedge in between potatoes, place rosemary in as well
  4. drizzle olive oil, balsamic, mustard, pepper and salt over the top
  5. bake at 300° F  for 20 minutes then remove and stir around, poke potatoes with a knife of fork
  6. bake for 20 more minutes then remove and cut potatoes in half, turn heat up to 350° F
  7. cut salmon in half and place it in the middle of the potatoes and bake 25-30 minutes or until salmon is cooked

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Vitamix Japanese Miso- Shiitake Soup

This was one of the first Vitamix recipes we tried in the and it was a huge success. Lots of umami.
summer bulgur-heirloom tomato salad

  • 3 cups shiitake or oyster mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1/2-1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp miso, white or brown
  • 1×1 inch cube fresh ginger root, peeled
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled
  • 3 cups water
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  1. marinate mushrooms in soy sauce and 3 tbsp evoo, set aside to marinate
  2. put miso, remaining olive oil, ginger, garlic and water into the Vitamix
  3. make sure lid is secure and turn on to variable 1
  4. slowly increase to variable 10 then to High
  5. blend for 30 seconds
  6. pour soup and top each bowl with scallion and mushrooms

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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Cockles in white wine, tarragon sauce

One of the adventures my mom and I went on this summer was to the only Spanish store in San Diego. One of the many eclectic things we picked up were cockles in brine which are in the same family as clams and have a very similar flavor. The night we decided to create something with them there were some strange lookin lobster mushrooms at the store so we decided to give them a try. This was basically my mom’s creation but I loved it so here it is.
the dish

  • 1/3 cup dry white wine
  • 1 tbsp tarragon
  • 8 threads saffron
  • 1/2 tbsp thyme
  • 1/4 lb lobster mushroom (or other mushroom)
  • 1 pat butter
  • 3 shallots
  • 1 can cockles/clams
  • 1/2 lemon
  • nice crusty bread
  1. caramelize shallots in butter
  2. juice lemon
  3. remove caramelized shallots and use pan to heat white wine on low heat with tarragon saffron, thyme and sliced mushrooms
  4. once mushrooms start to soften, drain and add cockles
  5. let simmer at low temperature until the aromas are strong then add lemon juice, cook for another minute then remove from heat
  6. serve in bowls with toasted bread

We used black olive rolls, toasted with garlic and it was divine.

This is the Spanish market: https://plus.google.com/104522045584702124507/about?gl=us&hl=en

The lobster mushroom:
the mushrooms

© 2014, domenicadreamsofcalamari. All rights reserved.

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