zucchini roll-ups

Zucchini Rollatini

Makes 12 rollatini, serves 4.  I enjoyed this dish from Martha Stewart.  The bright tomato taste marries beautifully with the creamy cheese and the salty prosciutto.  You can make it vegetarian by leaving out the prosciutto.

            2 large zucchini (8-10” long), cut           5-6 oz. thinly sliced prosciutto

              lengthwise into 12 ⅛” slices                 1 lb. fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

            coarse salt and fresh ground pepper      24 large fresh basil leaves, plus more

            1 Tbs. olive oil, plus as needed                 for garnish

1⅓ - 2 c. good quality tomato sauce

Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Season zucchini slices on both sides with salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Blot moisture from zucchini.  Swirl oil into skillet and cook zucchini in 2 single-layer batches, adding more oil between batches as needed, until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. 

Top each strip of zucchini with a piece of prosciutto torn to fit, a slice of cheese cut to fit, and 2 basil leaves.  Roll each stack into a pinwheel and spear with a toothpick to hold together.          

Place tomato sauce in an 8” diameter baking dish (or divide among four 3½ - 4” diameter ramekins).  Place rollatini (pinwheel side down) side by side in dish and remove toothpicks.  Bake until cheese is bubbling, 10 – 12 minutes.  Before serving, garnish with basil.  

chicken and leeks

Braised Chicken with Honey-Lemon Leeks

Serves 4.  From the April 2014 issue of Cooking Light magazine.

            4 tsp. olive oil, divided                          1 Tbs. grated lemon rind

            8 bone-in, skinless chicken thighs          4 c. thinly sliced leeks (about 3 large)

              (about 2 lbs.)                                      3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

            ¾ tsp. kosher salt, divided                    2 tsp. honey

            ½ tsp. fresh ground black pepper          2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley or chives,

                                                                          garnish

Heat oven to 400 degrees. 

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium heat.  Add 2 tsp. oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Sprinkle chicken evenly with ½ tsp. salt and pepper.  Massage lemon rind into chicken.  Place chicken in pan; cook 4 minutes per side or until browned.  Remove chicken from pan; keep warm.

Add remaining 2 tsp. oil to pan; swirl to coat.  Add leeks and remaining ¼ tsp. salt; cook 15 minutes or until leeks begin to brown, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.  Remove pan from heat; stir in lemon juice and honey.  Return chicken to pan.  Mound leeks on top of chicken thighs.  Bake chicken in the 400 degree oven for 15 minutes or until a thermometer registers 165 degrees.  Top with fresh parsley or chives and serve.        

vegetable lasagna

From Cooking Light, I used no-boil lasagna noodles but soaked them in hot water first.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/creamy-artichoke-asparagus-lasagna-50400000134220/

crab cakes with buttermilk ranch dressing

Thank you Cooking Light magazine - and thank you herb garden.  http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/crab-cakes-buttermilk-ranch-50400000134173/

decadent bacon ice cream

Pecan-Brown Sugar and Bacon Ice Cream

Makes one pint.  I saw a recipe for this as a homemade ice cream on the website of The Splendid Table.  While wanting to try it, I just didn’t have time to make ice cream, so I devised this version as a mix-in to store bought vanilla ice cream.  Scrumptious! 

            1 pint premium vanilla ice cream            ⅓ lb. bacon, cooked until very crisp,

            2 Tbs. brown sugar                                 blotted on paper towels and finely

            ⅓ c. chopped pecans                              chopped

Let ice cream soften at room temperature a bit.  Meanwhile, melt sugar in a sauté pan over medium heat and stir in pecans to coat.  Pour out on foil sprayed with cooking spray, break apart when cooled.  Stir the candied pecans and cooked bacon into the softened ice cream; return to the freezer to re-freeze.  Try not to eat the entire pint by yourself in one sitting!      

peach date bars

From Saveur magazine - I figured they were good for you since they had fruit AND oats
http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/peach-date-bars

grilled lamb chops

These shoulder chops are marinated in a yogurt mixture to tenderize them before grilling, then just grill the onions and oranges alongside for even more flavor.  From Saveur magazine:

http://www.saveur.com/article/recipes/grilled-yogurt-marinated-lamb-shoulder-chops