Asparagus Salad With Snap Peas And Strawberries

                                       

            Asparagus Salad with Snap Peas and Strawberries     This salad is the ideal in the late spring/early summer. Filling, yet still light and refreshing, perfect for patio dining. If you are using snap peas you’ve grown, throw in some of the pea tendrils into the salad at the same time as the mint. While keeping the asparagus and snap peas raw is certainly an option, we prefer to blanch the vegetables for a minute (followed by a shock in ice water) to preserve their crunch and their color.
Ingredients:
For the vinaigrette
1 small shallot
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons raw honey
1 teaspoon stoneground mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 lemon, juice and zest
4 to 6 ounces EVOO

For the Salad:
2 cups torn croutons
2 cups asparagus
1 cup snap peas
6 cups salad greens
1/2 cup fresh torn mint leaves
1 cup fresh strawberries
1/2 cup feta or goat cheese

Directions:

For the Dressing:  Mix all salad dressing ingredients except the olive oil in a blender and mix until well blended.  With the blender working slowly stream the EVOO.  Place dressing in container and refrigerate.

For the Salad:  Cut the asparagus into 1 inch lengths.  Can use raw or blanched one minute then an ice bath to stop the cooking but preserve the crispness and color,  Mix ingredients, adding cheese and garnish with sliced strawberries.

Asparagus Salad With Snap Peas And Strawberries

Asparagus Salad With Snap Peas and Strawberries

This salad is the ideal in the late spring/early summer. Filling, yet still light and refreshing, perfect for patio dining. If you are using snap peas you’ve grown, throw in some of the pea tendrils into the salad at the same time as the mint. While keeping the asparagus and snap peas raw is certainly an option, we prefer to blanch the vegetables for a minute (followed by a shock in ice water) to preserve their crunch and their color.

Ingredients:

For the Vinaigrette: 

1 small shallot minced
2 fl oz apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons raw honey
1 teaspoon stone-ground mustard
½ teaspoon salt
1 lemon both zest and juice
4-6 fl oz extra virgin olive oil

For the salad:

2 cups of torn croutons
2 cups of asparagus trimmed and chopped into 2 inch spears, blanched
1 cup snap peas trimmed, blanched
1 cups fresh strawberries sliced
½ cup feta cheese or goat cheese crumbled
6 cups salad greens
½ cup fresh mint leaves torn

Directions

For the vinaigrette:

In a jar or other tall container, combine all the ingredients except for the olive oil and mix until combined. Then, if using a whisk or an immersion blender, stream in the olive oil slowly, whisking constantly until the vinaigrette emulsifies.

For the salad:

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl, add the dressing, and toss gently to coat all the ingredients. Top with more crumbled feta and strawberry slices.

Meatloaf

Alton Brown's Meatloaf

Ingredients:

6 Ounces Garlic Flavored Croutons

1/2 Teaspoon Black Pepper

1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne Pepper

1 Teaspoon Chili Powder

1 Teaspoon Dried Thyme

1/2 Large Yellow Onion Roughly Chopped

1 Carrot Peeled and Cut Into 1 Inch Pieces

3 Cloves Garlic Peeled

1/2 Red Bell Pepper

18 Ounces Ground Chuck

18 Ounces Ground Sirloin

1 1/2 Teaspoon Salt

1 Large Egg

Topping:
1/2 Cup Ketchup
1 Teaspoon Dried Cumin

Dash of Hot Sauce

1 Tablespoon Honey

Directions:

Adjust oven rack to center position. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine the croutons, black pepper, cayenne pepper, chili powder and thyme in the bowl of food processor. Pulse until the mixture is a fine crumb. Pour crumb mixture into a mixing bowl. Add onion, carrot, garlic and red pepper to food processor and pulse until the vegetables are finely chopped (Don't over-pulse-since we don't want to go as far as puree). Add the chopped vegetables, chuck, sirloin and salt to the breadcrumbs and combine. Mix in the egg and combine thoroughly, but don't squeeze the meat.

Meanwhile, make the topping by combining ingredients in a small mixing bowl. After meatloaf has baked 10 minutes, remove it from oven and brush the ketchup mixture over top and sides. Place back in oven and bake until cooked through, about 55-65 minutes, or internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

San Marzano Tomato Soup With Basil Butter Crusted Fontina Grilled Cheese Croutons

San Marzano Tomato Soup 

With Basil Butter 

Crusted Fontina Grilled Cheese Croutons 

Ingredients:

Serves 4 to 6.
Soup:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 large onion, sliced
1 tsp. salt
2-28 oz. cans San Marzano Tomatoes, undrained and broken up a bit 

1 tsp. sugar
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 

2 T. chopped fresh basil
Croutons:
4 slices dense white bread, crusts trimmed 

4 to 6 thick slices Fontina cheese
1/4 cup unsalted butter
2 T. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 T. chopped fresh basil

Directions:

1. For soup, melt butter in a 4-quart soup pot over medium low heat. Add onions and salt and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes or until very soft but not browned.

2. Add the tomatoes, their juices and the sugar; bring to a simmer. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes over low heat. Puree soup in batches in the blender and return to the pot and bring to a simmer. Whisk in the cream and bring to a simmer. Stir in the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

3. For the croutons, top 2 slices bread with the fontina cheese and then remaining bread slices. Mash together the butter, Parmesan cheese and basil. Spread 1/4 of the butter on each side of the sandwiches. Cook in a nonstick skillet until well browned and crisp and cheese melts. Cut sandwiches into small squares and serve floating in the soup. 

One Pot French Onion Soup With Garlic Gruyere Croutons

One Pot French Onion Soup

With Garlic Gruyere Croutons

Ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 pounds oxtail or beef shoulder, cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces

Salt

8 medium onions

4 celery stalks, coarsely chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

4 thyme sprigs

8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter

Black pepper

1 cup port wine

Lemon juice to taste, optional

6 ounce baguette loaf, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

2 garlic cloves, halved

8 ounces Gruyere cheese

*

Directions:
Heat the oil in a 6-quart Dutch oven over high heat. Add the oxtail (or beef shoulder) in a single layer (work in batches, if necessary to avoid crowding the pan), and sear until the undersides are brown (do not turn). Season generously with salt and transfer to a plate.

Coarsely chop two of the onions; add to the pot, along with the celery, carrots, bay leaves and thyme. Lower heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes. Return the beef to the pot. Pour in 8 cups water. Simmer mixture gently until the meat is very tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Transfer beef to a bowl to cool for another use. Strain liquid into a bowl over a fine-mesh sieve; press gently on the solids with the back of a spatula to extract as much flavor as possible. Discard the solids; you should have about 10 cups broth (add water if necessary to equal 10 cups).

Halve the remaining 6 onions through the root end, then peel and thinly slice them lengthwise. Melt the butter in the bottom of the Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, tossing occasionally, until deep golden-brown and caramelized, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Pour in the port and cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, for 3 minutes. 

Pour in the broth and simmer mixture over low heat for 30 minutes. Season with salt and lemon juice, if desired. (For a smaller group, you could refrigerate some of the soup and reheat it later.)
While the broth simmers, heat the oven to 350 degrees. Arrange the bread slices on a baking sheet and toast until golden, about 12 minutes. Rub the garlic halves over the surface of the bread.

Heat the broiler and arrange a rack 4 to 6 inches from the flame. Using a cheese slicer, thinly slice 3 ounces of Gruyère. Coarsely grate the remaining cheese. Float the broiled bread over the surface of the hot soup. Layer the cheese slices over the bread; scatter the grated cheese over it. Transfer the Dutch oven to the oven and broil until cheese is golden and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes (watch to see that it does not burn).
To serve, use kitchen shears or scissors to cut the bread and cheese into portions. Ladle soup, bread and cheese into individual bowls.


Tip
To broil the soup in individual bowls, place 8 ovenproof bowls on a baking sheet. Fill with hot soup, top with broiled bread, shaved cheese and grated cheese, and run under the broiler until golden and bubbling. You may need to prepare it in batches.