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~ My love of gardening, making home comfortable and entertaining friends and family.

Garden, Home & Party

Tag Archives: easy recipes

Is it fall yet?

20 Monday Sep 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Dessert, Entertaining, Food

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dessert, easy recipes, pear tart

When typing this title I had to smile because it reminds me of the classic whine of a child regarding lots of things but mainly car rides, “are we there yet?”  I feel a little like a child in anticipation of the upcoming season—fall.

So, this past weekend, to busy myself in an effort to make the time go by more quickly I decided to prepare a new dessert (new to me) that I found on Epicurious.  If you like to cook you will enjoy this site—one of my favorite features is that when you read a recipe if there are any reviews, and there usually are, you can find out what the other cooks found, tips, changes, etc.  The recipe was first published in Gourmet magazine in 1997.

Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart. (Full disclosure: This photo was from the Epicurious site.

Caramelized Upside-Down Pear Tart

Dessert  (Originally in Gourmet Magazine, November 1997)

—————————————————————————————————————————

Ingredients – serves 8

1 pie crust (can be made or frozen; if frozen, thaw first OR you can use frozen puff pastry, thawed)

Filling:

  • 4 large firm-ripe Bosc pears (2 pounds total)
  • ½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
  • ½ cup sugar
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon

Preparation Instructions – Preheat oven to 425°

Peel and halve pears, the core (preferably with a melon-ball cutter).  Heat butter in a 9- to 10-inch well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then stir in sugar (sugar will not be dissolved).  Arrange pears, cut sides up, in skillet with wide parts at rim of skillet.  Sprinkle pears with cinnamon and cook, undisturbed , until sugar turns a deep golden caramel.  (This can take as little as 10 minutes or as much as 25, depending on pears, skillets and stove.)  Cool pears completely in skillet.

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°.

Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 12-inch round and trim to a 9 ½ to 10 ½ inch round.  Arrange pastry over caramelized pears, tucking edge around pears inside rim of skillet.  Bake tart until pastry is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.  Cook on rack 5 minutes.

Invert rimmed serving plate (slightly larger than skillet) over skillet and , using pot holders to hold skillet and plate tightly together, invert tart onto plate.  Serve tart warm or at room temperature.

This would be a great recipe to entertain with because you could bake it just before your guests arrive (what a wonderful scent) and then serve it room temperature.

Cooking at the Library

30 Friday Jul 2010

Posted by Karen B. in Entertaining, Food, Simple Meals for the Avid Cook

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cooking, easy recipes

Our public library has started a new program where they host a well-known chef who presents a lecture and demonstration on cooking.  My good friend, Cayley, invited me to join her for the Tuesday lecture featuring Chef Cathy Thomas.

Cathy is very entertaining and her recipes are always tasty.

I won’t go into the details about Chef Cathy’s rich history and wonderful reputation as a fabulous cook (you can Google her) but I will share that she has a new cookbook on the market called, “Everyday Cooking with Organic Produce“.  Cathy teamed with Melissa’s (a grower of organic fruits and vegetables that provides produce to most of our local markets) in writing this book.    The recipes are delicious and really easy—necessary criteria for summer cooking.

Cathy's cookbook is available at Amazon

You will love how delicious and easy this salad is!

Mediterranean Vegetables and Orzo Salad – Yield 6 servings

  • 8 ounces orzo (rice shaped pasta)1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium yellow crookneck squash; trimmed, diced
  • 2 medium zucchini squash; trimmed, diced
  • 1/2 large red onion; finely diced
  • 1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, diced
  • 1 cup grape tomatoes or cherry, halved lengthwise

————————————————————————————-

  • Minced zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley

————————————————————————————-

  • 4 cups washed baby spinach or mixed baby greens
  • 1 ounce salami, cut into 1/8-inch dice (may be omitted if meatless dish is preferred)
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • 1/2 cup drained olives, such as kalamata or Nicoise

1.  Bring large pot of water to boil on high heat.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and orzo; cook until al dente.  Drain, refresh with cold water.  Drain and toss with 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil.  Set aside.

2.  Place squash, red onion, bell pepper and tomatoes in large bowl.  Gently toss.  In small bowl or 4-cup measuring cup with handle, combine zest, juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, pepper and parsley.  Stir to thoroughly combine.  Pour onto vegetables and toss.  Add orzo and toss.  Taste and adjust seasonings.

3.  Divide spinach between 6 small plates.  Top with vegetable-orzo mixture.  Sprinkle each serving with diced salami and crumble feta on top.  Place a small pile of olives off to the side of each salad.

and to accompany this delicious salad…

Wraps are excellent for picnics due to their compact size and portability, no soggy bread to worry about.

Tortilla Wraps with Cabbage and Sweet-Spicy Asian Dressing

Dressing:

  • 1 cup mayonnaise
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • Zest of 1 orange, about 1 tablespoon
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
  • 2 teaspoons sesame oil
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried chili flakes

Wrap:

  • 4 large tortillas
  • 1 cup shredded green cabbage
  • 1 cup shredded red cabbage
  • 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked, cooled, cut into thin strips
  • 1 cup sno peas, strings removed, each cut into 3 lengthwise strips
  • 1/4 cup shredded, peeled daikon (Japanese radish)
  • 1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted, cut into 1/4-inch wide lengthwise  strips
  • 4 green onions, roots trimmed, halved lengthwise
  • 4-6 sprigs of cilantro (or Italian parsley if you prefer)
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1.  Place dressing ingredients in small bowl; stir to combine

2.  Spread enough dressing on one tortilla to thinly coat entire surface.  Place 1/4 of cabbage on lower half of tortilla; place 1/4 of each remaining ingredient on top of cabbage, adding salt and pepper to taste.  Roll up as tight as possible; starting at lower edge, folding over ends to (tuck in contents) half way through rolling up tortilla.  Give it a gentle push to seal.  Cut in half crosswise and place on plate.  Repeat process for remaining tortillas.

I know these recipes appear to be long but they are super easy and would be great for a picnic.  Happy Summer.

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