Recipe Review from 8/12/13

I had four new recipes on the meal plan for this week and only two got made -  things were a bit busier than I had anticipated.  After the trenching went in from the electrical line, holes needed to be filled (didn't want any broken puppy legs) and we had some catch-up gardening to do.  One evening was spent doing a bit of pre-hiking for a Superior Hiking Trail guided hike we led on Saturday.  And then the hike itself.

Duluth Harbor and Lake Superior

About 30 people hiked from Getchell/Skyline to Enger Park/Twin Ponds, a distance of 7.4 miles.  There are some absolutely outstanding overlooks of the Superior and St. Louis River basin on this route.  The downside is the south-eastern exposure in the summertime: it was 90* on the ridges and 82* in the shade and most of this is on the ridges.  This segment is as challenging as any found up the Shore with the short steep descents and ascents and clambering over bedrock on top.  The fastest hikers were done in about 2.75 hours and the last people were off the trail in 4.5 hours.

I think the best time to hike this would be during the hawk migration, when thousands of hawks are coming through, the leaves are turning colors, and it's not quite so HOT.



Spaghetti with Parsley Pesto and Sausage  (Ckng Lght Aug 2013)  
Despite the wordy instructions, this comes together pretty quickly.  While the water comes to a boil and the spaghetti cooks, every thing else can be prepped.  The pasta was still cooking while I sauted the sausage, and I just scooped out pasta water for the garlic.

The most notable change was I halved the amount of parsley in the pesto.  5 cups seemed to be waaayy to much for 8 oz of pasta.  I also had about 6 oz of sausage (or about two links worth).  When the butcher weighed out 3 oz, I was like, that's nothing!  Bumped it up a bit.  This was great for a late dinner - comes together quickly, tastes great, and not overwhelmingly heavy.   

photo from cookinglight.com

• 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti
• 3 ounces spicy pork Italian sausage, casings removed
• 4 garlic 2 garlic cloves, crushed and coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 ounce fresh Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated and divided (about 1/4 cup)
• 5 cups 2-3 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add pasta to pan, and cook 8 minutes or until almost al dente. Drain pasta in a colander over a bowl, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Discard the remaining cooking liquid.
2. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage to pan; sauté 6 minutes or until browned, stirring to crumble. Remove sausage from pan, reserving drippings; drain on paper towels. Add garlic to drippings in pan; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add 1/2 cup reserved cooking liquid to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in 2 tablespoons olive oil; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly with a whisk. Add pasta to pan; cook 1 minute, tossing to combine. Remove from heat.
3. Combine about 2 tablespoons cheese and 4 3/4 cups parsley leaves in a food processor; process until finely ground. With motor running, add remaining 1/4 cup cooking liquid and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil; process until smooth. Add parsley mixture and salt to pasta; toss well to coat. Divide pasta mixture evenly among 4 shallow bowls; top evenly with sausage, remaining 2 tablespoons cheese, and remaining 1/4 cup parsley leaves

Muffin Tin Frittata  (Cooks Country,  Aug/Sept 2013)  gluten free
I've read about frittata's but haven't gotten around to making one.  They are, in my opinion, a crustless quiche.  This article broke down the "science" behind what makes a frittata work and made them single serving sized.  The key to these little delectable morsels is to keep the fat content (cheese, sausage, etc) up so the eggs don't stick. 

I used the base recipe (below), halved it, and used some ingredients I had hanging out in my fridge:  red pepper, provolone and mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.   They come together very quickly.  They bake in about 10 minutes, and the rest of brunch can be assembled while cooling.  I must not have had enough cheese or other ingredients as my "muffins" did stick.  Poo.  I also halved the recipe to make 6.   

For 12 muffins: 
8 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half  (I used goats milk)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Generously spray 12-cup nonstick muffin tin with vegetable oil spray. Whisk eggs, half-and-half, pepper, and salt together in large bowl.
2. Divide frittata filling evenly among muffin cups. Using ladle, evenly distribute egg mixture over filling in muffin cups. Bake until frittata are lightly puffed and just set in center, 9 to 11 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Run plastic knife around edges of frittata, if necessary, to loosen from muffin tin, then gently, remove and serve.


I've included one recipe from the article to provide a reference for ingredient quantities. 

Chorizo, Parsley and Pepper Jack Filling  (Cooks Country, Aug/Sept 2013)
Makes enough for 12 muffin tin frittatas

1 tablespoon olive oil
8 ounces Spanish-style chorizo sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled. quartered lengthwise and sliced thin
1 large onion. chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 ounces pepper Jack cheese. shredded (1 1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons minced fresh parsley

1) Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
2)  Add chorizo, potatoes, onion, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
3) Stir in garlic and coak until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Transfer to bowl and let cool for 15 minutes. Stir in pepper Jack and parsley.