Grilled Veggie Pasta

I am happy to say that this is the recipe that finally got me over my aversion to zucchini and squash. I started making this dish last summer, when veggies were plentiful and I didn't know quite what to do with them all.

Here at our house we're huge fans of Penzey's Spices, and we are fortunate enough to have a retail location about 35 minutes from home. They have a mail-order catalog which we subscribe to as well, and each issue comes full of recipes created both by home cooks and by Penzey's to showcase their products. This meal was designed to highlight the aromatic flavors of their Pasta Sprinkle and their Freshly Ground Pepper, and it accomplishes just that.

The dish is very simple, and it is very adaptable to what you have on hand in your own home. You start out by grilling an array of vegetables, cooking up a pot of pasta, and then combining everything with plenty of fresh pepper, garlic powder, Pasta Sprinkle, olive oil, and vinegar. It's unbelievably fresh, flavorful, and satisfying despite the fact that it's completely vegetarian. We made this by sauteeing the veggies in a skillet whenever we made it last summer, but now I actually own an indoor grill pan. I used the grill pan for this dish and we thought it made a huge difference! Besides giving those veggies the festive grill marks, I was able to cook the veggies until they were tender but held their shape and were still quite crisp. Since I don't like my zucchini mushy, I loved this cooking method.

I do wish the pictures were a bit more colorful for you; I just used the veggies I had here at home, and there was a lot of green and yellow going on! This dish would be great, I'm sure, with just about any grilled vegetable you can think of, but I usually use a combination of onions, bell peppers, and zucchini/squash. The original recipe, which I have provided below, suggests other veggies that would be yummy, as well. I threw in two jalapenos this time, and I loved the added kick they provided. Garden-fresh jalapenos taste so much better than their storebought counterparts! I'm being spoiled by my in-laws!

No matter what veggies you try, just make sure you try this sometime before summer's over. If I may be so bold, I declare that satisfaction will be guaranteed. And even if it doesn't work out, it'll still help you use up that summer produce!

Grilled Veggie Pasta

adapted from Penzey's Spices (Harvest 2009 issue, p. 40)

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 lb. dry pasta (any shape)
2 lbs. fresh garden vegetables - your choice of any of the following:
-1 small green zucchini
-1 small yellow zucchini
-1 large red onion (I had yellow)
-1 red bell pepper
-1 yellow bell pepper (I had green)
-1 small eggplant
-1 (6-ounce) package whole button mushrooms (optional, but they add great flavor)
1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1-2 Tbsp. Pasta Sprinkle (a combination of basil, oregano, thyme, and garlic)
1/2 tsp. granulated garlic, divided
1/2-1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, divided
1/4-1/2 tsp. salt (optional)
1-2 Tbsp. balsamic or red wine vinegar (I use up to 1/4 cup)

Directions
1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta, and preheat an outdoor grill or a grill pan to medium-high. Wash and dry all veggies, then cut in pieces large enough to rest on the grill without falling through the grating. Place veggies in a single layer on a pan and coat with the 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 tsp. granulated garlic, and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Toss to coat both sides well.

2. When the water comes up to a boil, add the pasta and cook according to the package directions. Drain and rinse very briefly. Place the pasta in a large bowl and toss with the remaining olive oil, along with 1 Tbsp. of the Pasta Sprinkle and the remaining granulated garlic. Cover and set aside while the veggies are grilling.

3. Grill the veggies in a single layer, in batches, so as not to overcrowd the pan or grill. Cook over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes, then turn them. Cook for another 2-4 minutes (depending on which veggies you're using and how large the pieces are), until the vegetables are tender but still firm enough to have a crunch. Remove vegetables to the pasta bowl and add the remaining Pasta Sprinkle, pepper, garlic, and salt (if using). Toss everything together, add the vinegar, then toss again. Divide into shallow bowls and serve.

Key Lime Bars

Some of my best summer dessert memories involve key lime pie. I just love the stuff. Normally, I'll go for the decadent, chocolatey desserts when given a choice. But key lime is one of the few fruity flavors I can never pass up. And to me, the pairing of tart, creamy key lime pie filling and a graham cracker crust is darn near perfect.



I wanted to provide something sweet for a potluck lunch Andy was having at work. I needed it to be something I could whip together quickly and easily. I bought way too many limes last week (though, sadly, they were not key limes) and inspiration hit me. A key lime pie bar! That would fit the bill wonderfully! I remembered that Martha Stewart's Cookies book had a bar cookie recipe that I wanted an excuse to make. Now was my chance.



I was very grateful for the ease of this recipe. The hardest part was separating the three eggs; I messed up and added an egg white to my already separated egg yolks. Oops! And the yolks already had the fresh lime zest added to it; double oops! So I had to toss the bowl of yolks and zest and start over again. Besides that little hiccup in the works, everything was smooth sailing. A quick graham cracker crust is baked, then cooled. Next, you pour a mixture of egg yolks, lime zest, sweetened condensed milk, and fresh lime juice on top of the crust and put the whole thing back into the oven. It bakes for another 10 minutes, and then it is cooled and chilled in the refrigerator. After that, you're ready to cut and serve!

We cut ours into 24 bars, even though Martha says you can cut 18 bars. The 24 bars seemed like they were a good size for a potluck, whereas the 18 bars would probably be better for a situation where you were only serving the bars for dessert after a dinner or something. Martha's bars were garnished with some freshly whipped cream and thin lime slices, but we just served ours plain. They were a hit at the lunch just the way they were, but I would like to serve them by the book next time; they'll be a bit prettier that way!

Key Lime Bars (or just plain Lime Bars!)

adapted from Martha Stewart's Cookies

makes 18-24 bars, depending on the size of your slices

Ingredients

For the crust:

1 cup plus 2 1/2 Tbsp. finely ground graham cracker crumbs

1/3 cup sugar

5 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

3 large egg yolks

1 1/2 tsp. finely grated lime zest

1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3 cup fresh Key lime juice (I used regular limes, about 4)

For the garnish:

1/4 cup heavy cream

2 Key limes, thinly sliced into half-moons

Directions:

For the crust: 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Press evenly onto bottom of an 8-inch square glass baking pan. (I don't have a glass square baking pan, so I used a foil-lined metal baking pan, and it was fine.) Bake until dry and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack.

For the filling: 1. Put egg yolks and lime zest in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Mix on high speed until very thick, about 5 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. Add condensed milk in a slow, steady stream, mixing constantly. Raise speed to high; mix until thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low. Add lime juice; mix until just combined.

Assemble bars: 1. Spread filling evenly over crust using a spatula. Bake, rotating halfway through, until filling is just set, about 10 minutes. Let cool completely on a wire rack. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

Make garnish: 1. Cut 18 or 24 lime bars. Put cream in the clean bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment. Mix on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Garnish bars with whipped cream and a slice of lime. Ungarnished bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 3 days.

CEIMB: Panzanella with Chicken Sausage

Wow, this is the first time I've had to write two blog posts in one day! I knew it would have to happen eventually. I had both my Martha Stewart's Cupcakes Club post to do, as well as my regular Thursday Craving Ellie in My Belly post. Phew! Fortunately, this is the kind of busy that I like to be! Having to do some extra time in the kitchen is not a problem for me.



Now, onto this week's CEIMB recipe! This week's pick was Panzanella with Chicken Sausage from Ellie's So Easy book, chosen by Peggy of Pantry Revisited. I was glad she picked this one, because panzanella is something that has always intrigued me. I'd never made it, and never eaten it until now. I love salad, and I love bread, but for some reason the idea of an actual bread salad always seemed too bizarre to me.

As it turns out, I love bread salad! In fact, we all did here at my house. My hubby and I scarfed this down, and even my picky 4 year-old thought the idea of bread in his salad was pretty cool. I used some chicken sausages from Sam's Club (and hey, by the way, I'm kinda mad at Sam's Club right now. After I got the sausage home, I removed the outer cardboard liner and discovered that it had an expiration date of May 24th! We had to return it, and buy some more, and it turned out that almost every single package in their store was past date! We found one of maybe 2 or 3 packs that were good. Argh! And don't even get me started on the Sam's Club bleach stain incident of 2 weeks ago....).

Anyway, the sausages ended up being pretty tasty! They were provolone and sun-dried tomato flavor, and I did enjoy them in the end. As for the salad, I really was surprised at how much I loved it.

I've talked several times before in various blog posts about how I have come to love roasted or burst tomatoes, but haven't yet been able to fully embrace tomatoes in their raw form. So, I made my salad with burst cherry tomatoes, and I made the rest of the salad with regular cherry tomatoes. I think it worked out well. The dressing was simple but so good, and I used half a loaf of roasted garlic fougasse (which I haven't figured out how to pronounce, but it sure is good!) bread I found at the grocery store. I loved how the bread did soak up the other flavors in the salad, but it was a nice sturdy bread that held up well to the dressing and did not get soggy or mushy at all.

So once again, Ellie Krieger has made a believer out of me! She has proven that if I merely try something I've been skeptical about, chances are I will like it very much. This one exceeded my expectations. Thank you, Peggy, for taking me out of my comfort zone! The recipe for this one can be found here, on her blog.

MSC: Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes

Wow, it's already been a month since we made those Strawberry Cupcakes? I can't believe it! It's time once again for a cupcake from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes! This month, the Martha Stewart Cupcakes Club is making Flourless Chocolate Cupcakes.

These flour-free confections were chosen by Lauryn over at Bella Baker. They are very simple to make, and don't really take much time at all as long as you have a powerful mixer. You start out by melting together some chocolate and butter. I used Ghirardelli Bittersweet Chocolate Chips, because I find that those work best for me when I need a good quality chocolate but don't want to pay an arm and a leg for it. While the chocolate/butter mixture cools slightly, you whip 6 egg whites in a stand mixer with the whisk attachment. You add a bit of sugar while they are whipping. You want to eventually have stiff, glossy peaks in the mixing bowl.

Once the chocolate is cool enough to add egg yolks, you add the 6 reserved egg yolks (from separating the whites from the yolks) to your chocolate. Once it's all mixed together, you gently fold this mixture into your egg whites. Fill cupcake tins 3/4 full with batter, and bake!

Once they are out of the oven, the perfectly formed dome tops on the cupcakes start to sink almost immediately. Martha says that this will happen, so I wasn't concerned about it. However, when everything was said and done, mine didn't really look like the picture in the book. Martha's had gotten all crackly on top, and then the cracks had sunk into the cupcake. Mine sunk in a more uniform fashion, and were still perfectly smooth and flat on top. The process of the cupcakes shriveling a bit also had the effect of making the cupcake liners sort of pucker in a bit in places, and this made the cupcakes almost look like little flowers. It was kind of cute!

I don't know if I did something wrong somewhere along the way, and this is why they didn't turn out looking exactly like Martha's. I don't think it really mattered for the overall flavor of the cupcakes, though. They were very tasty! I haven't ever eaten a cupcake with this sort of texture before. They are light as air, as opposed to a denser brownie, but the taste is similar to that of a brownie. It's almost like eating a chocolate souffle; each bite just melts in your mouth.

We kept it simple; no garnishes or ice cream on ours. I am sure they'd be fabulous with something on top, but they were just wonderful on their own. Thanks to Lauryn for the selection this month! I don't know if I ever would have made these from the cookbook on my own, but I ended up loving them! The Flourless Chocolate Cupcake recipe can be found on Martha's website, here. Check out the MSC blogroll to see how the other bakers fared!

Bucatini with Jalapeno Pesto

I know I just posted about another pesto recipe last week, but this is one is so completely different that I thought it'd be okay to post about it today. This one is not made with basil, pine nuts, or even any cheese like the last one was. It isn't like any other pesto I've ever had. No, sir, this one uses green bell, jalapeno, and serrano peppers as its base!

As soon as I read over the ingredients list for this one, I thought it just sounded too crazy to work. However, that usually just makes me want to make something even more, because I just have to see for myself if it's going to be successful. So I decided to go for it.

You start out by toasting some pumpkin seeds in the oven. When they come out, in go some bell peppers and jalapeno peppers to roast. I used a combination of jalapeno and serrano as well as the bell, because that's what I needed to use up. Once the peppers are cool, and the skin is removed, you throw them in the food processor with the cooled pumpkin seeds, some cilantro, and some garlic, and coarsely chop. Stream in some olive oil and some lime juice, add salt and pepper to taste, and that's all it takes to produce a wildly flavorful, tangy, nutty, and very spicy concoction that tastes unbelievable on pasta.

The recipe I used (which I found on the site which used to be Recipezaar, but they've now switched it over to Food.com) added some halved cherry tomatoes in with the pasta and the pesto. Since I've discovered that I really love roasted, burst tomatoes, I went with that method for mine, and it was delicious. I'm sure any number of other veggies would be great in this, all tossed together with the pasta. I can see zucchini being delicious in there, asparagus, even peas. The possibilities are many for things to pair with this pesto!

Be prepared for the heat, though. This pesto is kinda killer! Granted, you can easily adjust the heat level to your liking by altering the combination of peppers you use. I love having that versatility with a recipe. I'm sure this would even work with just red and green bell peppers, and no hot peppers. However, for my tastes, I loved this just the way it was!

Pasta with Jalapeno Pesto

adapted from Recipezaar (now Food.com), recipe #13141

makes 4-6 servings

Ingredients

5 Tbsp. shelled pumpkin seeds

2 green bell peppers

1 jalapeno pepper

2 serrano peppers

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, plus the zest of half a lime

1/2 tsp. salt

freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. bucatini pasta (the thick spaghetti with a tiny hole down the center)

1 1/2 cups halved cherry tomatoes (roasted or not, it's up to you)

1/2 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toast the pumpkin seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet for 6-8 minutes, until fragrant and crunchy. Crank up the oven temperature to 450 degrees F.

2. Place all the peppers on a baking sheet, and roast them for 20 minutes or so, turning frequently. The smaller hot peppers take only about 10-15 minutes.

3. When the skin of the peppers has blistered, remove them from the oven. Let them cool a bit (I placed mine in a glass bowl covered in saran wrap to let them sweat a bit), then pull the skin away from the flesh. Discard the skin.

4. Place the peppers in a food processor, along with 4 Tbsp. of the reserved pumpkin seeds, the cilantro, and the garlic. Blend until the contents are coarsely chopped. With the machine running, slowly stream in the oil and lime juice. Blend in salt and pepper to taste.

5. While the peppers are roasting, you can start the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain the pasta, then return it to the pot. Add the tomatoes and the pesto, and stir well to combine everything. (If you decide to go with burst cherry tomatoes, you can throw them in the oven on a separate baking sheet while the peppers roast. Simply coat them with a bit of olive oil, some salt and pepper, and let them cook for 10-15 minutes, until shriveled and bursting.)

6. Divide the pasta among shallow bowls, then sprinkle the reserved 1 Tbsp. pumpkin seeds and half the zest of a lime over each serving. Serve with lime wedges on the side.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl

Once again, the Baked cookbook has proven to me why it (and the New York City bakery these recipes come from) is so popular. I really wanted to make a coffee cake for the weekend of my birthday; it gave me an excuse to indulge! This coffee cake is definitely a splurge, with 2 sticks of butter and a 16 oz. carton of regular sour cream (the cookbook advises you not to use low-fat or fat-free), not to mention 2 1/4 cups of sugar just in the cake alone. The crumb topping is a thing of pure decadence, and pure beauty. Made with dark brown sugar and finely chopped pecans, butter, flour, and salt, it smelled like heaven while it was baking and tasted even better.

The cake turns out huge. It's made in a 9x13 baking dish, and rises all the way to the very top of the pan. I don't know if I've ever eaten a coffee cake that was so very...tall. And every last inch of this cake is moist, flavorful, and just completely yummy. If you're having a lot of people over for breakfast or need to take something to a morning potluck, this would be perfect. It could probably feed a small army.

My favorite feature of the cake, and probably the deciding factor for me to finally make it, is the chocolate cinnamon swirl contained inside. It does require a little extra work while you're filling the baking dish with the batter, but it is worth every second. You simply mix together a bit of cocoa powder with a bit of cinnamon, then add some sugar, and you've got an amazing little ribbon of goodness that darts through your cake and provides an extra little dimension of flavor with every bite. It gave me an excuse to crack open my brand new Penzey's natural high fat cocoa powder, and it did not let me down. It's fantastic cocoa; I'd never baked with anything other than good old Hershey's before this. Now that I've tasted the high-quality stuff, I don't see how I could ever go back. I've been missing out, clearly!

I recommend that you find a reason to make this cake for company sometime soon. It's classic enough to be a welcome addition to a breakfast table (or, heck, even dessert!), but it's got that kick from the cocoa to make it a bit of a conversation piece. I'm already fantasizing about the next excuse I can possibly concoct for making it again myself....

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl

recipe from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

makes 1 (9x13-inch) cake (serves 16-24 depending on the size of your slices)

Ingredients

For the crumb topping:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup pecans, toasted

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cold, cut into 1-inch cubes

For the chocolate cinnamon swirl:

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp. dark unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

For the sour cream cake:

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

16 oz. sour cream

1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Directions

Make the crumb topping: 1. Put the flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds to mix. Add the pecans and pulse until the pecans are finely chopped and thoroughly incorporated.

2. Add the butter and pulse until combined. The mixture will look like very coarse sand. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the refrigerator. (In my opinion, this was very important for the overall outcome of the crumb topping. I made mine the night before I assembled the cake, and having the topping in the fridge overnight made it firm enough that the crumbs were set already once sprinkled over the cake. They maintained their shape while in the oven and were large and extra bumpy on top of the cake. Yum!)

Make the chocolate cinnamon swirl: 1. In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder, and cinnamon and set aside.

Make the sour cream cake: 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x13-inch baking pan. If you use a metal pan, the edges of the cake will be crispy (not altogether a bad thing).

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbonlike. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and starts to look fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

3. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not overmix.

4. Pour one third of the cake batter into the prepared pan (I used my kitchen scale to make sure each of my thirds was even). Use an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle half the chocolate cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter, covering the entire surface of the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the remaining swirl mixture, then the remaining batter, and spread the batter evenly. (I found that the spreading part was easier if I dropped smaller dollops of batter over the whole surface, then gently spread all the dollops together. Otherwise, the spatula would pick up the batter and the chocolate cinnamon swirl with it and become a mess.) Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top of the batter.

5. Bake in the center of the oven, rotating the pan three times during baking, for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. (I believe mine took 5 minutes more.) Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then serve. The cake will keep for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.

Grilled Spring Onion Skewers

Here is proof that simplicity can sometimes be the greatest thing. Behold, the mighty spring onion. These came from the garden of my in-laws, and they are amazing. They're big, beautiful, and they can pack quite a punch. Not too long ago we were given a big bag full of them, and immediately I thought of an Ellie Krieger recipe I had seen in The Food You Crave.

Her recipe takes a bunch of scallions, with the topmost green parts cut off, and threads them onto skewers after coating them in a bit of olive oil. Easy, right? I added some salt and pepper for added flavor. Then, you simply grill them on an outdoor grill or a grill pan, turning them every so often, until they are soft and slightly charred. I think this makes a fantastic, unique vegetable side dish to nearly any grilled meat, and looks pretty on a plate, as well.

Since my spring onions were way bigger than regular old scallions are, I should probably have cooked them a lot longer than I did. I believe mine were grilled for 15 minutes, and they could have gone for at least another 10. They were delicious, but not grilling them quite long enough had the effect of not completely mellowing out that strong onion flavor. They were still pretty potent! However, I'm very happy to have discovered this easy side dish, and I'm sure I'll be using this technique a lot more often. It's just too simple not to!

Grilled Spring Onion Skewers

adapted from The Food You Crave

makes 4 skewers

Ingredients

4 wooden skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes (I used my metal skewers)

20 scallions (I had about 16 large spring onions)

2 teaspoons olive oil

salt and pepper, to taste (Ellie's recipe does not have this)

Directions

1. Preheat the grill or a grill pan over medium-high heat.

2. Cut the roots and tops off of the onions so you have the bulb plus 1 inch of green left. Reserve your tops for another use.

3. Make a few slices into the green part of the onion so it splays out a little. Thread 5 scallions onto each of the skewers, brush with the oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and grill over medium heat until they are softened and develop char marks, about 10 minutes, turning once or twice. (If you are using spring onions, this could take about 25 minutes.)