Wednesday

Spinach, orange and jicima salad with cumin citrus vinagrette

For Molly, Suzy and Kath - Thanks for joining me for dinner Wednesday!

Ingredients:

Dressing--
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper
Pinch of coarse salt

Salad--
Baby spinach leaves
jicima
orange segments

To make dressing:
Toast cumin seeds in a small skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Transfer to a spice grinder, and process until finely ground.

Combine all ingredients in the jar of a blender; blend until smooth. Store, covered, in the refrigerator up to 3 days.

Thank you, Martha Stewart, for the recipe.

Asian Lettuce Wraps (for TV nite)

For Molly, Suzy and Kath - Thanks for joining me for dinner Wednesday!
Ingredients:
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
4 teaspoons soy sauce
3 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Salt
1 pound ground pork
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh ginger
1 head boston lettuce, leaves separated
2 carrots, finely shredded

In a small saucepan, bring 1/2 cup water to a boil with the vinegar, sugar, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 2
teaspoons garlic, the crushed red pepper and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until the sauce is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes. Let cool.

Preheat the broiler. In a large bowl, combine the pork, cilantro, ginger, remaining 3 teaspoons soy sauce and 1 teaspoon garlic. Form 8 oval patties about 1/2-inch thick and broil, turning once, until cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Spoon into lettuce cups and top with the carrots. Serve with the dipping sauce.

Recipe from Rachel Ray.

Saturday

Seth's Favorite Zucchini Chocolate Cake

If you don't share the recipe, no one guesses there is zucchini is this very moist, chocolatey cake.

Ingredients:
4oz unsweetened chocolate
1/2 c vegetable oil
1/2 c butter at room temperature
2c sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs vanilla extract
2c sifted all purpose flour
1/3 c cocoa
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/3 c buttermilk or sour cream
3c coarsely grated zucchini or summer squash
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Melt chocolate and oil in small saucepan on very low heat.

Cream butter until light. Add sugar, eggs and vanilla. Beat well. Add the melted chocolate and mix well.

Sift together the dry ingredients and stir them into the batter with the buttermilk/sour cream. Mix the Zucchini and nuts into the batter.

Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Divide the batter between pans. (I've used 13x9x2 pans as well)

Bake at 350* on the middle shelf of the oven for 40 minutes, or until toothpick comes clean.

Cool and frost.

Recipe from Storey's Basic Country Skills book.

Wednesday

Baked Penne wih Cheddar and Leeks

Mac and Cheese for grown-ups.

Ingredients:
1/4c butter
5c chopped leeks, white and pale green parts only, about 5 large leeks
1/4c all purpose flour
3.5c whole milk
1# extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated
1 Tbs Dijon mustard
1 tsp hot pepper sauce
2 large eggs
1# penne pasta

Lightly butter a 15x10x2 inch baking dish. Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add leeks; stir to coat. Cover saucepan and cook until leeks are tender, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes (do not brown). Uncover saucepan; add flour. Stir 2 minutes. Add milk; bring to simmer, stirring often. Add cheese, mustard, and pepper sauce. Stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat. Season cheese sauce to taste with salt.

Whisk eggs in medium bowl. Temper with 1 cup of cheese sauce. Stir egg mixture into cheese sauce.

Cook pasta until tender but firm to bite. Return to pot and stir in cheese sauce. Transfer to prepared baking dish. These steps can be done 2 hours ahead and the dish left at room temperature.

Preheat oven to 400*F. Bake pasta until cheese is bubbling around edges and some ends of pasta are golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

from Bon Appetit 3/09