Carrie: This was very tasty - it had some real Indian flavor! Advice for next time: skip roasting the eggplant. It was a pain and didn't cook it enough, so we wound up slicing it an putting it under the broiler
Sunday:
Orrechiette with Cherry Tomatoes and Dandelion Greens
Salad
Carrie: This was a recipe inspired by Lidia's Italy. She used a different green that was not in stock at our market, so we substituted. Wow, the dandelion greens were a nice surprise! They had a great peppery sharpness to them.
Vegetarian Baked Beans - from various recipes here and here
Carrie: Well, the beans were a lot of work for less-than-great results, partly because I miss-read the recipe. The potato salad was a nice change from the overly-dressed American variety.
Tuesday:
Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup
French Bread
Camembert
Carrie: A last-minute decision to go with an old stand-by. The soup is a great from-a-box brand called Pacific. Soup, bread, and soft cheese... mmmm - it's always good!
Carrie: This turned out quite well! The mushrooms were fabulous! I cut this recipe in half (1 lb. of mushrooms instead of 2) mainly because these types of wild mushrooms are expensive. But we did find a nice "chef's mix" of all sorts of mushrooms, and that worked out well. The full-flavored mushrooms was a nice accompaniment to the more mild-flavored risotto.
Benjamin: The "best vegetarian chili in the world", as the recipe claims? Not quite, but still good -- and it was definitely nice to get home from a 10 hour road trip and have dinner ready!
Carrie: It sure was tasty! And I love this biscuit recipe - so easy! You can use a food processor to make the dough, pull out the dough and shape into a round (like a cake round) and cut into cake-like slices with a dough cutter. Put them on a baking sheet and bake for 12 minutes. Flaky and yummy!
Monday:
Spaghetti and Salsa Verde with Walnuts & Tarragon, Everyone, p. 55
Cauliflower with Bread Crumbs, Everyone, p. 354
Benjamin: The salsa verde is in the same family as the trapanese pesto we tried a week or two ago (olive oil, green herbs, nuts) but the flavors were different: all parsley rather than a basil/parsley mix, walnuts in place of almonds, the addition of capers. I especially liked the subtle anise flavor from the tarragon.
Carrie: Wow, this hit the spot! Nothing more to add but that the flavor had a nice fresh zing to it (not spicy).
Benjamin: The recipe I found online provided inspiration, but I didn't follow it to the letter. I'd just made a fresh batch of vegetable stock and we had a package of shelf-stable gnocchi in the cupboard, but for the rest I basically used this as an excuse to clear out various neglected vegetables from the drawers in our fridge. Turned out very nicely nevertheless....
Carrie: Another one of Benjamin's great concoctions. And great for lunches, too!
Mango Upside-Down Cake, Baking Illustrated, p. 331
Carrie: We saw this type of pesto on a cooking show and thought it sounded good. We couldn't find the recipe from the show, but we compiled a plan from some other recipes. It was excellent! Not too heavy, but rich and garlic-y.
