Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Feta

With Summer right around the corner, there is the start of the abundance of farm fresh produce. I love this time of year, where you can peruse the growing selection of fruits and vegetables at farmers markets, grocery stores, neighborhood produce stands and more. Simple goodness. 

I was in the mood yesterday for something basic. I was perusing my Saveur, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit monthly magazines for inspiration. Italian sounded good. And so did tomatoes and fresh herbs. So I came up with this. 

Dan's Slow Roasted Cherry Tomatoes & Feta

3 pints cherry or grape tomatoes

1/4 cup best quality olive oil

1/4 cup best quality balsamic vinegar

1 T honey 

4 cloves garlic, crushed 

Fresh herbs (any will do), about 1 loose cup total 

Fresh cracked pepper

Sea Salt

1/2 crumbled feta cheese 

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large non metal baking dish, spread out whole tomatoes. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar and honey. Pour over tomatoes. Sprinkle on half of the prepared herbs. Liberally season with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. 

Bake for 2-3 hours. Depends on desired caramelization, and end texture. I ended up cooking mine for almost 3 hours. When tomatoes have shriveled and start to blister, remove from oven. Turn broiler on high. Sprinkle on crumbled feta and place under broiler for 5-6 minutes. Until cheese starts to melt and is browned, and skins on tomatoes continue to blister and turn dark. Remove from oven and sprinkle on remaining half of herbs. 

Serve hot or at room temperature. Simply smash together and use as a sauce on top of cooked pasta. Use as a bruschetta alternative. Or just eat by the spoonful for a healthy snack. 

Pickled Fig Preserves

Again, canning for me is relaxation at home. I enjoy creating new unique twists on traditional favorites. One of my favorite quick & easy appetizers is some crackers or rustic bread, slathered in some goat or blue cheese, with a generous helping of my picked fig preserves. I adapted this from two recipes and came up with something that I really enjoy flavor wise.



Dan's Pickled Fig Jam

2 lemons
4 pounds ripe fresh figs, stemmed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 9 cups)
4 cups sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

Directions

Using vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons (yellow part only) in long strips. Cut peel into matchstick-size strips (about 3 tablespoons).

Combine lemon peel, figs, sugar, red wine, vinegar, and 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt in heavy large deep saucepan; let stand at room temperature 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

Bring fig mixture to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium; continue to boil until jam thickens and is reduced to 6 cups, stirring frequently and occasionally mashing mixture with potato masher to crush large fig pieces, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat.

Ladle mixture into 6 hot clean 1/2-pint glass canning jars, leaving 1/4-inch space at top of jars. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe jar threads and rims with clean damp cloth. Cover with hot lids; apply screw bands. Process jars in pot of boiling water 10 minutes. Cool jars completely. Store in cool dark place up to 1 year.



The finished product. All ready for storage in our pantry at home.

Home Cooked Good Eats!

Having served an LDS mission for two years myself, YEARS AGO, I find that feeding the local LDS missionaries in our home from time to time is the least I can do. I'm not at all interested in going on out missionary teaching lessons these days. But, I know how tight the purse strings are on a mission for these full time volunteers. When someone invites you over for dinner, especially when you have been working hard, biking all day, and wanting a good meal, cooking some good, from scratch food to be inhaled by six 19-21 year olds is often well received.



These days it's all about cooking healthy. No exception with these oven roasted tomatoes I served as a side.



Dan's Oven Roasted Tomatoes:

18 Roma tomatoes
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Sea salt
Fresh cracked pepper
1 tsp Thyme

Cut tomatoes in half length wise, and scoop out all the flesh. Arrange on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle liberally with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with thyme and roast at 275 degrees for 2-3 hours. Serve with chopped basil and parmesan shreds.



I caramelized a bunch of onions, garlic, leek and fennel and made a ground sirloin and chorizo meatloaf with roasted potatoes as well.



Salad and homemade green goddess, creamy italian style dressing.



Also, what's not to like about a from scratch espresso infused chocolate cake, covered in bittersweet chocolate-espresso butter cream. This got inhaled! I certainly appreciated good meals as an LDS missionary. I know these six volunteers appreciated what we were able to provide as well. I enjoy doing this for them.

Smokey Spicy Hummus

Nothing beats good from scratch hummus. I've been whirling up a batch each week for work, to enjoy with raw vegetables. It's been fun playing around with different flavors. Here is one of my recipes with smoked paprika and cayenne that tastes good with the traditional lemon and cumin. Super easy and a cinch in your food processor.

Dan's Smoked Paprika Hummus

1 15oz Can Garbanzo Beans
1 15oz Can Cannellini Beans
¼ C Tahini Paste
3 Cloves Garlic
1 Lg Lemon, Zested & Juiced
1 TBS Ground Cumin
½ Tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 Tsp Smoked Paprika
Salt & Pepper to Taste
½ to ¾ Cup Olive Oil

Rinse beans. Place in food processor with all remaining ingredients. Mix to combine and check seasonings. Pulse again and add enough olive oil to desired consistency. Serve with veggies or grilled flat bread wedges.

Yvonne's Rosemary Cashews

This past weekend we had a lot of birthday celebrations for my "Big-36!" I took a comp day on Friday and stayed home and cooked up a slew of appetizers and desserts to share with a bunch of friends Friday evening. In addition to what I made, our friends also brought over some appetizers to share. Yvonne's Rosemary Cashews were super tasty! She gave us some of the leftovers, and we ended up smuggling these into the movies (via Holly's purse) on Saturday night! :) I plan to make these to have on hand to sprinkle over salads and such. Excellent flavor combination.

Rosemary Cashews

1 lb roasted cashews (I used 50% salt already-roasted Trader Joe's brand)
2 TB minced fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 TB kosher salt
1 TB unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread cashews out on sheet pan and toast in oven until warm, about 5 minutes. In large bowl, combine rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and butter. Thoroughly toss the warm cashews with the spiced butter. Bake about 5 more minutes. Serve warm.

Balsamic Onion Marmalade Yumminess

Many of you have asked me for my onion marmalade recipe. This is a fantastic savory jam that is great on crackers with goat cheese, a base for pizza, and as a spread for sandwiches. I found this recipe on a blog a year or so ago, and made it with my own variations and adjustments to make it water bath processing (canning) stable. It's fantastic to keep on hand.






Dan's Balsamic Onion Marmalade

4 lbs onions (sliced thin)
6 shallots (sliced thin)
3 slices bacon or pancetta (thick cut)
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 cups sugar
1 cup dark brown sugar
2 cups red wine
1 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 pkgs liquid pectin

Directions:

1. Place a large, non-reactive pan over medium-low heat. Add the bacon and render the fat. Once the bacon has crisped, remove.

2. Turn up the heat to high to medium-high, add the onions, salt, thyme and olive oil. Stir to make sure the onions are coated with the oil and bacon fat. Cook covered with a tight lid for about 20 minutes. Remove thyme stems. Continue to cook stirring every 5 to 10 minutes until the onions begin to turn golden brown.

3. Add the sugar, brown sugar, red wine, and balsamic vinegar. Cook over medium heat until vicious. To test if it’s the right consistency, dribble a bit of the reduction on a plate and it still liquid, but slowly slips down the plate after it cools briefly. I also look to for doneness by dragging a spoon against the bottom of the pot. If it leaves a long valley, then its done. WARNING: Do not walk away from this once it begins to get close. There is enough sugar in this that it can burn and create sugar concrete on the bottom of your pan.

4. Remove from heat and stir in liquid pectin. Return to heat and boil for one minute. Ladle into prepared glass jars and water bath process for 20 minutes.

NOTES:

This marmalade keeps in the fridge well for at least 2 months, once a jar is opened. Some of the fat may become solid at the top after water bath processing, simply scrape it off and dispose of it. Additionally, if the marmalade become too thick, reheat in the microwave for 30 seconds and I find it spreads very easily.

Seafood Salad Starter

Baked Shrimp-Crab Salad

1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 (6-ounce) can crabmeat, picked free of any broken shells
1 (4-ounce) can medium shrimp
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup buttered cracker crumbs or bread crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a medium casserole dish or medium glass baking dish lightly with butter.

In a large bowl, combine the bell pepper, onion, and celery. Add the crabmeat and shrimp, and then the mayonnaise, salt, pepper, and Worcestershire sauce, tossing gently with a plastic spatula to combine. Spoon the mixture into the prepared dish. Sprinkle crumbs over top. Bake until a golden brown crust develops, about 30 minutes.

Serve with baguette or vegetables.

Puff Pastry & Cheese Starter

Cheese and Spinach Puff Pastry Pockets

12 frozen puff pastry shells, unthawed
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (16-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/4 cups grated Fontina cheese
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
3 to 5 green onions, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a heavy large baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange the frozen pastry shells on the baking sheet and bake until they puff and become golden brown, about 20 minutes. Using a small knife, cut out the center of the pastry shells.

Meanwhile, stir the cream, milk, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the spinach, Fontina cheese, Parmesan, and green onions. Spoon the spinach mixture into the baked pastry shells. Bake until the pastries are golden brown and the filling is hot, about 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer the pastries to a platter and serve.

Tomato Kebab Starter

Sun-Dried or Heirloom Tomato Kebabs

24 oil-packed sun dried tomato halves, drained, oil reserved
Alternatively, use halves organic heirloom tomatoes
24 medium basil leaves
24 small fresh mozzarella balls packed in water, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Special Equipment: 12 (8-inch) wooden skewers

Alternate 1 sun-dried tomato half, 1 basil leaf, 1 mozzarella ball, 1 more basil leaf, 1 more sun-dried tomato half and 1 more mozzarella ball on each skewer. Arrange the skewers on a platter. Drizzle the reserved oil from the sun-dried tomatoes over the skewers, and or balsamic syrup. Sprinkle with flake sea salt and pepper, and serve.

Bacon Wrap Starter

Craven Family Bacon Wraps

1 pound bacon, cut in half
2-3 cans whole water chestnuts, drained
1/3 C Honey
2/3 C Good BBQ sauce, preferably from scratch
Toothpicks (soaked in water at least 30 mins)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Wrap half piece of bacon around each water chestnut and secure with a toothpick. Arrange on dripper pan. Bake off in oven for 30-40 minutes (sometimes sooner, sometimes later depending on oven) until bacon is cooked fully and is crisp.

Mix honey and BBQ sauce and heat gently. Dip cooked bacon wraps, lightly in sauce and arrange on platter. Sometimes I wrap bacon around a half piece of a whole water chestnut and half piece of a whole date and proceed with the recipe.

Asian hoison sauce is also good for a variation to the sauce, if you are having an Asian themed appetizer party.

2010 Healthy Recipes, Week #3

Nothing beats fresh, good tasting food. And the more I dive into healthier cooking, the more I realize that a lot of stuff you buy from the grocery store is such sub-par compared to making something from scratch, controlling ALL the ingredients, and really savoring the quality of the items that go into your product. A few simple, fresh ingredients hands down taste much better than a convenience food, that is full of stabilizers, preservatives and other chemicals.

We are a couple weeks into the new year, and I've already dropped 8+ pounds. Mostly due to being back on track with eating, now that the holiday weeks are over. And secondarily, really aggressively kicking up my workout routine. I've started running again as well as lifting weights. Now you'd think this is nothing major, but for me it really is major! I have not run for ages. And while I continue to increase my cardiovascular stamina, it's nice to be running at a fast pace on the treadmill at the gym, intermixing it with brisk walking. The more I do this, the more endurance I know I'll be able to achieve with running and this will continue with the weight loss and lifestyle change I'm adopting. I'll never be a runner, but I can be a jogger.

I make my own organic yogurt from scratch each week, so I can enjoy it for breakfast at work. Most of the stuff at the grocery store is not very good from my perspective in terms of flavor and texture. Additionally, the really nice no sugar organic yogurt is expensive. It's really cost effective to just make it at home. My yogurt maker has been a great tool in our kitchen.

With this homemade yogurt, I was craving granola over the past few weeks. I decided to look at a few recipes in cook books that I had, as well as looking online for ways to make it more nutritional, and less oily. I based my recipe loosely on an Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa recipe, but increased the honey, reduced the oil and used olive oil instead of vegetable oil for better nutrition and a better mix of good fat to just fat based on a recipe I viewed from the American Heart Association website. I added more dried fruit as well to the finished granola, particularly dried pineapple. Not the adulterated sugary kind, but the simplistic unadulterated dried kind with NOTHING else in it. This type of pineapple alone is SO GOOD! A little bit of this with some fresh homemade Greek style organic yogurt on top is a FANTASTIC breakfast to start my mornings with.



Honey Sweetened Granola

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
2 cups unsweetened shredded coconut
2 cups sliced / slivered almonds
½ cup olive oil
½ cup good honey
1 1/2 cups small diced dried apricots
1 cup small diced dried figs
1 cup small diced dried pineapple
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup roasted, unsalted cashews
½ cup sunflower seeds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Toss the oats, coconut, and almonds together in a large bowl. Whisk together the oil and honey in a small bowl. Pour the liquids over the oat mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until all the oats and nuts are coated. Pour onto a 13 by 18 by 1-inch sheet pan. Bake, stirring occasionally with a spatula, until the mixture turns a nice, even, golden brown, about 25-40 minutes. Remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool, stirring occasionally. Add the dried fruit, cashews and sunflower seeds. Store the cooled granola in an airtight container.

Cayenne Spiced Nuts

We recently had our annual autumn open house. A tradition Holly and I have, is to make some home made party favors for everyone. I've been making this spiced nut recipe for years, based loosely off a recipe I got out of Gourmet Magazine. They have quite a bite.

Cayenne Spiced Nuts:

4 C Mixed Nuts
2 T Butter
3 T Worcestershire Sauce
4 T Honey
1 tsp Salt
1/2-1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Few cracks of black pepper

Melt butter, Worcestershire, sugar, salt, cayenne, black pepper and garlic powder in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and boil for 30 seconds to dissolve the sugar. Pour over nuts and mix thoroughly to combine. Remove nuts with slotted spoon to a baking sheet. You don't want the extra sauce on the nuts, it clumps up rock solid when baked. Roast nuts in a 375 degree oven for 15-25 minutes, or until desired doneness, stirring every 10 minutes. Allow to cool and break up with your hands.

Orange Chipotle Spiced Pecans

A colleague of mine at work prepared these pecans and brought them in to snack on today. After about five of these I became hopelessly addicted. I sprinkled them on my salad today and they made a great accompaniment. I asked for the recipe and she sent me the link. It's a Cooking Light recipe from last years holiday issue. These would be fun placed into custom packaging to give as gifts.

1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1 large egg white
2 cups pecan halves
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle chile pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 cup sweetened dried cranberries

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 225°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; stir with a whisk. Stir in pecans. Combine sugar, salt, and pepper. Add to pecan mixture; toss well. Spread mixture in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 225° for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven; cool completely. Stir in cranberries.

Note: Store in an airtight container for up to one week.

CALORIES 91 (76% from fat); FAT 7.7g (sat 0.7g,mono 4.6g,poly 2.4g); IRON 0.3mg; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 4.8g; SODIUM 98mg; PROTEIN 1.2g; FIBER 0.8g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2008.