Great Sandwich

With salad dressing, spinach, bacon, tomato, avocado, onion; on hazelnut bread.

Rosy Squash Frittata

Using leftovers, I made a frittata for breakfast the other day. I had some tomato sauce (tomatoes, green pepper, onion, Italian seasonings), and spaghetti squash; so, I tossed it all together with some eggs, milk, green onion, and cheese. I used a couple of tablespoons of the tomato sauce, seasoned with a pinch of smoked paprika. Put it into a hot cast iron fry pan, then finished it in the oven. The garnish is basil, I needed to trim a leggy plant!

Grilled Corn

Eat it on the cob, or cut off the cob, saute in butter. One could also serve it with a compound butter; I made a smoked paprika/chili/chive butter. It's also good right off the cob and into a salsa.

Wasabi Cheddar Burger

Need I say more?

Squash Ravioli

Hmmmm, what to make for supper, that was the question. I didn't have much out, and it's still a week until payday, so I looked through the freezer and saw the leftover squash from a dinner earlier this winter. I had put it in the freezer for just such an occasion. The squash was cooked, purreed, and seasoned with salt and pepper, garlic, parmesan, and a bit of gran marnier. I made up a quick pasta dough, rolled it out, cut, filled, et voila, ravioli. I could have gotten the pasta machine (hand cranked, Italian) out and made the pasta thinner, more delicate, but didn't want to deal with it. So, it's a bit "rustic."
I used semolina and white whole wheat flour, a bit of salt, and a couple of eggs for the dough. After cooking the pasta in boiling water, I put it in a pan with melted butter, garlic, and a bit of the pasta water, sprinkled with chives.
I served it with chicken breasts in a madeira sauce. (I sliced it for presentation as we had an unexpected dinner guest! 3 breasts, 4 servings)

Braised Sirloins

Pretty self-explanatory: browning, sauteeing, deglazing, braising...

Beethoven Soup

The name Beethoven means "beet garden," so it was fitting to finish an adult ed class I've been teaching about Beethoven and soup with a version of borscht. There are as many ways to make it as there are cooks. Here's what I did...
I kept things pretty simple, using leeks, shredded carrot, diced parsnip, beets (that were previously roasted), beet greens, salt & pepper, vegetable broth, chicken stock. Simmered until vegetables were tender. I pureed the soup, added some honey, and then squeezed in a bit of fresh lemon. It was served with a dollop of sour cream and a drizzle of reduced balsamic vinegar. This could be served warm or well chilled.

Caramel Sticky Buns

Butter a casserole dish. Make a caramel sauce with cream, butter, corn syrup, brown sugar. Put in bottom of baking dish, sprinkle with pecans.
Cut refrigerated biscuits into fourths (two cans, jumbo flaky), toss pieces in a stick of melted butter. Layer over nuts, one package of biscuits makes one layer. Sprinkle with cinnamon, sugar, cloves; top with remaining biscuits. Bake at 350F, til done, about 20-30 minutes. Center could still be doughy, so I lower the heat (so as not to burn the caramel), and finish baking until center is done.
Remove from oven, cool a minute, then turn upside down (I turned them into a larger baking dish).

Just a pizza...

Brush crust with olive oil, sprinkle with grated parmesan and Italian Blend grated cheese. Add roasted tomatoes, pepperoni/salami (julienned), Italian sausage, diced onion and green pepper, sliced olives (Napa, stuffed with garlic, which i also used, minced).
Top with mozzarella (not pictured).

"Relish"

Saute sliced onion, cabbage, and green pepper. Toss with sliced dill pickle, season with salt and pepper, celery seed.

Potato & Leek Soup

Saute leeks in butter with onion, add diced potatoes, cover with vegetable stock. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Puree, add heavy cream, minced parsley. Season with salt, pepper, a bit of nutmeg.