Recipe #73 - Lo-Cal Squash/Veggie/Bean Stew

This hearty stew has very few calories or fat. We had it with some homemade herbed foccaccia bread and a green salad with pear and fennel.

3 Tbsp. good quality olive oil

1.5 cups quartered and slivered sweet yellow onion

1 cup thinly sliced celery

3 cups cremini mushrooms, stemmed and quartered

4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash, about 1/2" cubes

1 cup peeled and diced carrot

1 cup diced fennel bulb, core removed

1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice

4 garlic cloves, finely minced

2.5 cups rich vegetable stock

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

1 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped

Salt & pepper, to taste

2 15-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed well

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onions, celery, mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the mushrooms give off their liquid and start to brown slightly.

Add the squash, carrot, fennel, tomatoes, stock, tomato paste, rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover the pot and bring to a bubbly simmer. Let the stew simmer for about 20 minutes, until the squash, fennel and carrots are very tender.

Add the white beans and simmer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Adjust seasonings and serve in wide soup bowls with bread and salad.

Recipe #72 - Tomatillo Avocado Salsa

Today Mark was acting as Chef de parte' on a team at Le Cordon Bleu making some gumbo dishes, and pretty much had the team working the gumbo line. (We did both a seafood gumbo with prawns and a meatier one with chicken and andouille sausage.)

Meanwhile, Mark went to the box and gathered some available stuff to make some salsa, seeing as how we were doing sort of a "South-of-the-border-mixed-with-Cajun-cuisine" range of food.

So ... here's what he came up with:

8 tomatillos

4 serrano chiles

6 green onions

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 lime, juiced

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chile powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne powder

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

Core and dice the tomatillos. Trim the serranos and remove about 3/4 of the seeds and pith. Finely mince the rest. Slice the green onions thinly. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and add the veggies. Saute until the tomatillos release their juices and the veggies are cooked through. Add the lime juice and seasonings. Stir and cool slightly. Add the diced avocado and serve.

Recipe #71 - Sheri's Easy Lasagna

Sheri' DuMond has been doing the menu-planning and cooking here since Mark has been in culinary school. This is a wonderful lasagna recipe she came up with which will feed us many times.

1 lb. whole wheat lasagna noodles

Salt

1 lb. assorted veggies (we used portabella mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, red bell pepper)

1 medium onion, chopped

1 carrot, grated

Bay leaf

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

4 Tbsp. tomato paste

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 14-oz. cans crushed tomatoes

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

3 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3 Tbsp. AP flour

1.5 cups milk, warmed in the microwave for 45 seconds to warm

Nutmeg, to taste

2 cups asiago cheese, grated

2 cups ricotta cheese

Bring a large pot of water to boil; break the lasagna noodles into odd shapes. Add salt to the water, put in the pasta and cook until not quite al dente. Drain in a colander, toss with a little olive oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Heat olive oil in another pan and add the veggies. Saute until the veggies are getting tender. Add the tomatoes and basil, and simmer for 10 minutes until the flavors meld nicely.

In yet another pot, melt the butter and add the flour. Whisk the roux, then slowly add the warm milk, whisking constantly. Add the nutmeg and season with a little salt and pepper. Whisk until thickened, then stir in half the asiago cheese and remove from heat.

Preheat the broiler in your oven.

Toss the cooked pasta with the veggie-tomato mixture and put it into a lasagna baking pan. Add dollops of ricotta cheese, and smooth all the bechamel cheese sauce over the top, smoothing it to cover the entire pan. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top and put it into the oven until it's all bubbly, browned and great.

Serve with a green salad, garlic bread and wine of your choice.

Recipe #70: Sheri's Tomato Soup

Sheri' made a pot of creamy delicious tomato soup on a recent Sunday night. It went well with Small grilled cheese sandwiches and a simple salad of greens (from our own garden!) dressed with vinaigrette and accompanied by bleu cheese and candied walnuts.

3 lbs. plum tomatoes

3 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper

Pinch of sugar

2 Tbsp. unalted butter

4 shallots, chopped

2 Tbsp. dry white wine

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

4 cups rich vegetable stock

1/4 tsp. cayenne, or more to taste

1 cup half-and-half

3 Tbsp. fine chiffonade of fresh basil, or chopped thyme leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut the tomatoes in half and place, flesh side up, on a wire rack set on top of a sheet tray or roasting pan. Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and sugar.

Roast the tomatoes in the preheated oven until very soft and starting to brown. This might take as long as an hour, but check after 45 minutes. Take tomatoes out of the oven and let cool while you:

Heat the butter in a large saucepan. Saute the chopped shallots until they become translucent, then add the wine and continue the saute as the wine evaporates. Add the veggie stock and cayenne to taste. Add the half-and-half and continue to simmer the soup for 10-15 minutes.

Add the roasted tomatoes to the soup and puree it well with an immersion blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with the fresh herbs, if using.

Recipe #69: Kale for breakfast? Um ... YES!

Mark DuMond just finished his second month of culinary school (Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts), and so far so good. Yesterday, chef/instructor Darryl Dela Cruz tossed out a surprise challenge to the class: He had two big boxes of fresh kale that wouldn't last the weekend, so he had each of the 30 or so students come up with a dish on-the-spot using kale.

So Mark came up with a dish called "Kale For Breakfast" which is a sort of deconstructed bacon-and-eggs dish. After tasting it, the chef said, "Now you're thinking like a chef!" and added, "If I had my own restaurant, this dish would be on the menu." Pretty nice praise for a dish that was conjured up on the fly.

2 strips bacon, chopped
1 shallot, minced
1 russet potato, peeled and medium diced
1 bunch kale, ribs removed and shredded
1/2 cup chicken stock
Salt & pepper, to taste
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. heavy cream
1 tsp. butter
1 egg

Heat a skillet and add the bacon. Cook until the fat is rendered. Add the shallot and potato and fry until it just starts to brown. Add the kale and cook until it wilts. Add the chicken stock, lower heat, and braise, stirring frequently. Add salt and pepper to taste.

When the potatoes are tender, add butter and cream, and stir gently. Let the mixture cook over low heat until bubbly.

In another skillet, heat butter until hot, crack an egg into the pan, and fry it "sunny side up." Put the bacon/kale/potato mixture into the center of a warm plate and slide the fried egg on top. Sprinkle with a little black pepper and serve immediately.

Recipe #68 - Whole Wheat Dark Beer Bread

Inspired by a trip to Jackson Hole, where we saw Ace DuMond's baking skills firsthand, Sheri' tried out a bread recipe using some dark porter beer we had sitting on the shelf in the garage.

1.5 cups unbleached white flour

1.5 cups whole wheat flour

4 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 egg, beaten

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 12 oz. bottle or can of dark beer, such as porter or stout

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Add the egg and beer, and stir until well combined. Put the dough into the loaf pan. Bake for about 45 minutes, checking often after the 30 minute mark by putting a butter knife or toothpick into the center of the loaf. When it comes out with no dough residue, remove the bread from the oven and cool on a wire rack.

Recipe #67 - Stacked Seafood Enchiladas

Sheri' dreamed this one up. Literally. She had a dream of layered tortillas with shrimp and crab and veggies with a tomatillo sauce.

It turned out pretty good!

Sauce:

1 lb. tomatillos, husks and stem ends removed

3 jalapeno peppers, seeds and pith removed, finely chopped

1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, finely chopped

3/4 cup mascarpone cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the tomatillos on a baking sheet and put in the oven. Roast until the tomatillos release their juices and begin to blacken, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Put the roasted tomatillos, jalapenos, cilantro and mascarpone in a food processor and buzz into a smooth sauce.

Enchilada casserole:

4 corn tortillas

1/2 lb. very fresh crab meat

1/2 lb. cooked shrimp, roughly chopped

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 red onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels

2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced

1 cup shredded Mexican cheese, such as cotija

Mix the crab and shrimp meat together in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the onion, garlic and jalapeno for a few minutes until cooked through. Add the corn and saute until heated through.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a baking dish coated with non-stick spray, place a corn tortilla, followed by some of the shrimp/crab mixture, then some of the sauteed veggies. Spread some of the tomatillo sauce over and sprinkle with a little cheese. Repeat the layers, top with a tortilla, spoon the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle with some cheese.

Put the layered casserole in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Serve hot with your favorite Mexican accompaniments, such as beans, rice, salad, etc.