Roasted Pear Sandwich with Pecan Parsley Pesto

Ingredients

2 red bartlett pears
2 large rolls, or pieces of ciabatta
1 hunk pyrenees w/ green peppercorns cheese, sliced thinly (or use any mild, somewhat soft cheese such as gouda)
pecan parsley pesto (recipe below)

Instructions

Cut the pears in half, remove stems and cores. Roast in a 350 degree oven on a lightly oiled baking sheet, cut sides down. Remove to cool and cut thin slices. Spread a generous amount of pesto on the bottom slice of the bread; top with the pear and slices of cheese. Toast until the cheese melts.


Pecan Parsley Pesto

2 c fresh parsley, roughly chopped
3 scallions, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 c olive oil
1 c pecans, toasted
salt, pepper

Put parsley and garlic in a food processor; with machine running drizzle in the olive oil. Scrape down the sides and add the pecans, processing just until they are combined. Add salt and pepper to taste. Keeps up to a week in the fridge.

Adapted from the Cafe Flora cookbook.

Cinnamon Tomato Sauce

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 c red wine
1 28 oz can diced pureed tomatoes
2 c water
1/2 c chopped fresh parsley
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

Instructions

Saute the onion, garlic, and spices in the oil. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and cook 2-3 minutes, until most has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, water, parsley, and oregano. Lower the heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Puree in a food processor and serve.


Adapted from the Cafe Flora cookbook.

Pomegranate-Lime Pie with Almond Biscotti Graham Cracker Crust

Ingredients

the pie filling
2/3 c lime juice and pomegranate juice (2 parts to 1, respectively)
1 can condensed milk
3 egg yolks at room temperature

the crust
1 stick butter, melted
3 pieces biscotti
6-7 four-square graham crackers
1/4 c sliced almonds, toasted
sliced almonds, sliced key lime, lime and lemon zest to garnish

Instructions

Crust
whir the dry ingredients in a food processor until you have a crumbly mix. mix with the butter in a mixing bowl with a spoon, and press the mixture in the bottom of a pie pan. bake at 375 for 8 minutes. set aside.


Pie Filling
beat the egg yolks until fluffy with a hand mixer, then slowly add the other wet ingredients while continually mixing. mix for roughly 5 minutes. pour the mix into the crust, bake at 350 for ten minutes. garnish, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours before serving (best served after freezing for ten minutes).

Citrus Mushroom Saute

Ingredients

Chopped crimini mushrooms
Spinach, chopped
Tomatoes
Minced Garlic
Onion, Bell pepper, Zucchini, etc. as you like
Red pepper flakes
Salt
Pepper
Juice of 1/2 grapefruit
1 tsp lime juice
zest of lime, grapefruit

Instructions

Saute the vegetables in a little olive oil, seasonings and citrus juices. Serve with sprinkling of zest.

Gumbo

Ingredients

2.5 c safflower oil
2.5 c white unbleached all-purpose flour
Several c veggie stock (make your own, use store-bought or try filtered water w/ bouillon cubes)
rinsed and dried greens: (try mustard, collard, kale, red chard, etc.)**
arame (a dried sea vegetable... found on the "ethnic foods" aisle by soy sauce at my local grocer)
carrots
roasted tomatoes*
okra, chopped
onion
green onion
roasted tomatoes
shallots
red, green, yellow bell peppers
chopped white and crimini mushrooms
amaheim pepper
celery
corn
6 pieces fake bacon, cooked acc'd to package instructions and cut into small pieces
4 links veg "sausage" sliced into coins and sauteed
arame
salt
pepper
bay leaves
parsley (fresh flat-leaf)
cayenne
dried red chiles (whole or pepper flakes)
tarragon
thyme
file powder (if desired)
wild rice, cooked (to serve)

Instructions

Chop all vegetables (except the greens and arame), saute in safflower or canola oil until the onions are translucent and the okra stops "roping." Set aside.

The Roux
Combine the oil and flour in a saucepan and stir over med-low heat for ~20 minutes to create a roux. Discard and start over if you burn it (black flecks will show up -- this yields a bitter product and will ruin your gumbo). It's important to continually stir, *especially* once it begins to turn darker. Gran gets hers to a dark dark brown, but after the third try I settled for a deep caramel color.

Putting it Together
Heat the veg stock to a good simmer, add bay leaves (2 should do) and slowly incorporate the roux. Add the vegetables and simmer.

Add a few strands of arame, "sausage" and seasonings, including fresh chopped parsley. Simmer for a good 30 minutes. Add the greens, stir and simmer until wilted to your liking.

Serve warm spooned over rice. (If using file powder incorporate in the gumbo just before serving.)


*to roast tomatoes, chop and toss in olive oil, black pepper and italian seasoning. bake cut-side up at 200 for a good few hours (you can allow these to cook slowly as you work in the kitchen; you can also cook them overnight at 150.)

**note that collard greens have the same amount of calcium as milk, oz for oz.