Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Leeks and Sage

Well hello, fall comfort food.  Thank you for turning up on my dinner plate.

This is such an easy dish that showcases some incredible fall flavors.  Baby fingerling potatoes, crispy and brown on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside?  Check.  Pungent fresh sage leaves, turned crispy after a visit to the oven?  Check.  Roasted leeks and crispy bacon to tie it all together with a power chord of flavor?  Check.

It's that simple.  And it's that good.  This sounds like a side dish, but trust me, you won't need anything else.

Roasted Potatoes with Bacon, Leeks and Sage

adapted from Bon Appetit

serves 2 as a main course, 4 as a side dish

INGREDIENTS:

1 strip of bacon, chopped

1 pound of baby fingerling potatoes, halved

1 leek, white and light green parts only, chopped

5 or 6 fresh sage leaves, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven (preferably toaster oven) to 375.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

2.  Heat a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon pieces and cook until browned and crispy.  Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to drain.

3.  Toss the potatoes, leek, and sage with the olive oil (and drippings from the bacon, if you like, in which case reduce the amount of oil).  Season lightly with salt and pepper, place on the baking sheet, and bake for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are getting evenly browned, and leeks and sage are getting crispy.

4.  Add the bacon pieces and toss everything together.  Raise oven temperature to 400 and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, or until everything is browned and crispy, and potatoes are tender.  Serve.

Enjoy!

White Bean & Sage Hummus

White beans are one of those ingredients that I've grown to love more and more as I experiment with them.  They have a mild flavor, but a fantastic texture that lends itself so well to soups and dips.  Here is an elegant variation on hummus, featuring white beans and my very favorite herb, sage. 

I made this recipe up as I went along, tasting here and there and adjusting accordingly.  It came out pretty fantastic.  It's healthy, hearty and delicious.  You could easily make a meal out of it with some veggies, or spread it on a tortilla and make a wrap with some veggies and/or meat of choice.   We had company today, and the general consensus definitely seemed to be favorable!

White Bean & Sage Hummus

makes about 2 1/2 cups

INGREDIENTS:

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon tahini

4 or 5 leaves of fresh sage

pinch of cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Place the beans, lemon juice, tahini, sage, and cayenne in a food processor and puree until mostly smooth.   With the processor running, stream in the EVOO until desired consistency is reached.  It should be smooth, but still nice and thick, like hummus.

2.  Season to taste with salt and serve immediately, or cover and store in the refrigerator for a day or two.

Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

It's not a holiday season without cookies.  It just isn't.  Peanut butter blossoms don't have anything particularly holiday-ish about them, but somehow I associate them with this time of year.  They feature the greatest flavor combination of all, chocolate and peanut butter.  I tweaked them slightly to add a hint of nutrition, but some things just can't be taken too far.  These are decadent little fellows, and that's why we make them small.

Pillowy peanut butter cookies providing support to a full-sized, slightly melted Hershey's kiss - it's just that simple.  I experimented with doing half dark chocolate and half milk - they'd also be great with Hugs, or with any of Hershey's other odd kiss formations (so long as it's something that goes with peanut butter - I'd stay away from the mint flavored ones).

Hershey's may not be the best chocolate there is, but this is one way to make it taste absolutely fantastic.

Peanut Butter Blossoms

adapted from the Hershey's kiss package

makes about 4 dozen

INGREDIENTS:

1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter

3/4 cup creamy all natural peanut butter

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1 egg

2 tablespoons skim milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

48 Hershey's kisses, unwrapped (milk, dark, or combination of both)

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat oven to 375.

2.  Beat butter and peanut butter in a large bowl or stand mixer.  Add both sugars, and beat until fluffy.  Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat well.

3.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Gradually beat into the mixture from step 2.

4.  Form 1 inch balls of dough and place on two baking sheets.  You should get about 48 cookies.  (I got 45).  Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until lightly browned.  Remove from oven and immediately press a kiss into each cookie.  The cookies will crack a bit; don't worry!  Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Enjoy!

Smoky Autumn Greens

Thanksgiving is around the corner, and some things are automatically on the menu - turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, pie, etc.   For me, thanksgiving is all about the side dishes, and it seems like a great opportunity to showcase earthy fall flavors and add some color to your plate.

This side dish is, in a word, awesome.  I have to admit, I wasn't expecting magic on a plate, but it's what I got.  The smoky bacon, tangy pomegranate, and tender greens are a completely dynamite combination.  Try it out and see.  I think there will be a new source of green on your buffet table this year.

Note that this quantity is only good for 2 or 3 people, so if you're serving a crowd, make sure you multiply accordingly!

Smoky Autumn Greens

adapted from Rachael Ray's Big Orange Book

serves 2-3

INGREDIENTS:

1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

2 slices of smoked bacon, chopped

1 bunch Swiss chard, washed and dried, stems and ribs removed

salt and pepper

pinch of nutmeg

handful of pomegranate seeds

1/4 cup low sodium chicken broth

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Heat a high-sided skillet over medium-high heat.  Add oil and bacon, and cook until the bacon is browned and crispy, about 5 minutes.

2.  Roughly chop the chard and add it to the pan.  (If you're doubling or tripling the recipe, make sure you add the chard in batches,  adding more as it wilts down).   Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg.  Stir.

3.  Scatter in the pomegranate seeds and pour in the broth.  Simmer until greens are very tender and most of the broth is evaporated.  Serve.

Enjoy!

Steak with Whiskey Sauce

Some cookbooks are just too good to pass up.  I try to avoid really butter-laden, gluttonous meals, but when the beloved Pioneer Woman's cookbook came out last week, I had to have it.  Her blog is my favorite of all the blogs I read (and there are many), more for her wit and her stunning photography than the recipes themselves.  You see, PW is not afraid of butter.  I'm not either - in fact, I love it - but I use it in moderation because I try to keep my meals on the healthier side.

So tonight I decided to experiment with one of her dishes, and make it a bit more heart healthy.  I changed up a few things,  but the spirit of this dish is still there.  This is a delicious steak with a simple yet unusual sauce.  We don't normally have whiskey in the house, but I'm glad we happened to have some right now, because this is a sauce I plan to make again and again.

I definitely recommend serving this on a bed of sauteed veggies.  We had ours with some baby bok choy, which soaked up some of the extra sauce and made for a nicely rounded meal.

Steak with Whiskey Sauce

adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks

serves 2

INGREDIENTS:

2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons diced onion

1/4 cup whiskey

1/4 cup low sodium beef broth (chicken broth will work too)

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup milk

10 to 12 oz. top sirloin steak, trimmed and cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Melt 1 tablespoon of butter with 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and cook until brown, about 4 minutes.

2.  Turn off the burner when the onion has browned, and add the whiskey.  Stand back just to be on the safe side.  When most of the whiskey has evaporated off, turn on the burner to medium and pour in the broth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

3.  Whisk in another 1/2 tablespoon of butter, and allow the mixture to bubble for about 30 seconds.  Reduce heat to low, and whisk in the milk.  Allow to simmer on very low heat while you prepare the steaks.  Stir occasionally.

4.  Melt remaining tablespoon of butter with remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Season both sides of the steak(s) with salt and pepper, then add to the hot skillet.  Cook about 4 minutes per side for medium rare, depending on the thickness of your steak.

5.  Plate the steaks and spoon the sauce over each one.   You might have some leftover sauce.

Enjoy!

Chicken Paella with Sausage and Olives

Paella is one of those fabulous meals that is a little bit different every time you have it, but always comforting and hearty.  This variation includes no seafood whatsoever, so I was excited to try it for my husband's sake.  It comes from the brand spanking new Ellie Krieger cookbook, So Easy.  And it really is.

This meal is genuinely fun to make.  It's one of those science-experiment-in-the-kitchen recipes, only it requires little effort.  It just comes together as a fantastically spicy and rich, yet nutritious and easy on the waistline, one pot meal.  The warm spices are perfect for this cool fall evening.  I always thought of paella as a labor of love, but this one can easily be served as a weeknight meal.

Chicken Paella with Sausage and Olives

adapted from Ellie Krieger's So Easy

serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

3 oz. chorizo sausage, casing removed, chopped

1 lb.  skinless boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 leeks, white and light green parts only, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup frozen peas

1 cup uncooked long grain white rice

1 large ripe tomato, chopped

1/4 cup chopped green olives

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of ground turmeric

small pinch of saffron threads

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 375.  Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large skillet or a medium-large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add the chorizo and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 3 minutes.  Add chicken pieces and cook until browned on all sides (not necessarily cooked through), about 4 minutes.  Transfer chicken and chorizo to a plate.

2.  Add remaining oil to pan.  Add leeks and cook, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes.  Add garlic and cook, stirring, about one minute.  Return chicken and chorizo to the pot and add broth, peas, rice, tomato, olives, salt, pepper, turmeric, and saffron.  Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven. 

3.  Cook until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Baked Pumpkin Pasta with Sage Crumb Topping

I posted a pumpkin pasta recipe once before, but believe it or not, this one is completely different.  Some of the ingredients are the same, mostly because there are certain flavors (sage, nutmeg) that simply have to go with pumpkin.  But this is a great example of how the same basic flavors can be combined in a variety of ways to make utterly different dishes.

This is a crunchy, flavor-packed, spicy and sophisticated pasta dish that's a fun twist on flavors you think you know well.   And it's not even decadent.  Pumpkin is so good for you, it's ridiculous.   We just have psychological associations with pumpkin and nutmeg that make us think "Oooh, I'm indulging."  But in this case, it's really not true.

This is a great way to use up leftover canned pumpkin from, oh, perhaps pumpkin muffins or cookies.   Enjoy the fall flavors and surprise your family with a completely unexpected variation on a familiar theme.

Baked Pumpkin Pasta with Sage Crumb Topping

adapted from Veganomicon

serves 4-5

INGREDIENTS:

the topping:

3 slices of stale (i.e. not super soft) whole grain bread

handful of walnut pieces

4 or 5 fresh sage leaves

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

1/4 cup grated parmesan

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

the pasta:

cooking spray

1/2 pound short cut whole grain pasta

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tablespoon light brown sugar

pinch ground nutmeg

pinch cayenne pepper

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup low sodium vegetable broth

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Make the topping by putting all the topping ingredients in a food processor, except the oil.  Process until a coarse bread crumb mixture forms.  With the processor running, stream the oil into the bread crumb mixture.  Set aside.

2.  Preheat oven to 375 and spray an 8 x 8 or similar sized casserole dish with cooking spray.  Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and salt it.  Cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente.  Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again.

3.  While pasta is cooking, heat remaining olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Saute the onion, stirring only occasionally, until onions are browned and starting to caramelize, about 10 to 15 minutes.

4.  Combine the pasta, onions, sugar, nutmeg, cayenne, pumpkin, and broth in a mixing bowl until well mixed.  Pour into the prepared casserole dish.  Top with the bread crumb mixture.  Bake 25 minutes, or until bread crumb topping is golden brown.

Enjoy!