TWENTY-NINE : ROASTED PARSNIPS & SWEET POTATOES W/ CAPER VINAIGRETTE

PLENTY

DECEMBER 13 2012

TWENTY-NINE : ROASTED PARSNIPS & SWEET POTATOES W/ CAPER VINAIGRETTE

Hello dear reader! I find I have been suffering a lack of enthusiasm for this blog the last few months and you may have noticed a looooonnnngg stretch without a post. During this downtime, I have made a few dishes from Plenty but simply failed to write up my experiences. I am determined to get back on track! So in the next few days I will try to catch up. Don't worry... there are only a few recipes to discuss so I won't be filling up your inbox or flooding your facebook feed. But bear with me as I drag us back to 2012 for a few days.

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 19 2012

SEVENTEEN : MARINATED BUFFALO MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO

We all are familiar with this equation: summer = tomatoes = caprese salad

Mr. O takes this classic combination of soft mozzarella, ripe tomato and fresh basil to a new level by massaging the mozzarella with a pungent, basil-laced marinade before serving. I usually don't spring for the more expansive buffalo mozzarella, but am truly glad I did this time. It has an amazing softness and richness. And serving it alongside a just-picked tomato still warm from the afternoon sun makes this dish hard to beat. All it needs is some crusty bread to soak up all the lovely juices. Could be a meal in itself!

chiffonade of basil

FOURTEEN : ZUCCHINI & HAZELNUT SALAD

PLENTY

AUGUST 30 2012

FOURTEEN : ZUCCHINI & HAZELNUT SALAD

ZUCCHINI!!! I love you and I hate you at the same time! How many ways can we eat thee without going insane? How about grilled in a lovely salad w/ basil and toasted hazelnuts. OKAY!

garden basil!

garden zucchini!

THIRTEEN : POACHED BABY VEGETABLES WITH CAPER MAYONNAISE

PLENTY

AUGUST 21 2012

THIRTEEN : POACHED BABY VEGETABLES WITH CAPER MAYONNAISE

It's one billion degrees out today and I've decided I have to, I just HAVE TO, poach some baby veggies for dinner tonight. Why exactly, I'm not sure. But it's been decided so that's what I'm gonna do. Luckily, our BBQ also has a burner so I can do the hot work outside instead of steaming up the already steamy house. Tonight's baby veg includes haricot verts, mini zucchini, tiny turnips, itsy radishes and teeny carrots. All from the garden except the verts... yessssss!

baby carrots from the garden

TEN : BUCKWHEAT BLINIS W/ SMOKED SALMON

Delia Smith's Winter Collection

FEBRUARY 11 2012

TEN : BUCKWHEAT BLINIS W/ SMOKED SALMON, CREME FRAICHE AND DILL
 

Blini, blini, blini. They just look so cute and innocent sitting there. As if they were no trouble at all to make. Well, don't let their crispy edges and adorable miniature size fool you. These babies really make you work for every bite.

EIGHTY-SEVEN - NINETY-FIVE : SUNDAY SAUCE!

JANUARY 5 2012

EIGHTY-SEVEN : OLIVES
EIGHTY-EIGHT : ANTIPASTO PLATE
EIGHTY-NINE : CANNELLINI, CAPER, LEMON & ANCHOVY CROSTINI
NINETY : MULLED WINE
NINETY-ONE : PORK BRACIOLA MARINARA

NINETY-TWO : POTATO GNOCCHI 
NINETY-THREE : GNOCCHI MARINARA  
NINETY-FOUR : PUNTARELLE WITH LEMON, CAPERS, ANCHOVY & PECORINO
NINETY-FIVE : TIRAMISU

 
And that's all folks. I am now done with the book! My grand adventure culminated tonight in a fabulous Sunday Sauce (on Thursday) party where I crammed all the remaining dishes onto the table and we ate until we just about burst. I think it will be easiest to talk about each section separately. So here goes...

SEVENTY-THREE & SEVENTY-FOUR : SARDINES TWO WAYS

DECEMBER 13 2011

SEVENTY-THREE : SARDINE, BLOOD ORANGE & PUNTARELLE SALAD
SEVENTY-FOUR : GRILLED CURED SARDINES

Here fishy, fishy! I love me the fishiest of the fishes and these sardines fall squarely into that category. Mackerel is another oily, super-fishy, fabulous one that I love, love, love!

These babies had been curing since Friday in a lovely blend of olive oil, lemon, garlic, parsley. When I started the curing process, I had planned to enjoy them Sunday as a nice, light lunch. But we were both sooooo stuffed after feasting the night before that lunch never really happened. So tonight, I pulled them out of their oil bath and got to work. Truly, the painful part of these recipes is the curing process. Once that's done, everything else come together very quickly.

SIXTY : BAKED CLAMS

NOVEMBER 10 2011

Well, now I know. Clams are a pain in the ass to shuck! I consider myself a pretty darn good oyster shucker, so thought these little guys would be a cinch. But that was not the case. The shells don't have much strength so start crumbling as soon as any force is applied. Then, once I got the thing open, I basically mutilated the clam itself trying to unattach it from the other side. I still feel pretty bad about my total butchery. Luckily, they will be covered up with seasoned breadcrumbs so no one will know (except all of you because there is photo evidence).

come on, mother shucker!

FORTY-FIVE & FORTY-SIX : EGGPLANT CROSTINI & MEATBALLS

SEPTEMBER 30 2011


FORTY-FIVE : ROASTED EGGPLANT CROSTINI
FORTY-SIX : MEATBALLS (!!)

Oh meatballs, how I love thee. I want to eat you every day. Except that making Frankies meatballs requires a whole batch of tomato sauce, which has to simmer for hours. I had already made the sauce on the stovetop as the recipe directs, so I decided to make it a little easier on myself and used the crockpot this time. That way, I could go run errands as it bubbled away. It took a little longer, but was totally worth it.

This making of the Frankies meatballs, a momentus milestone in my journey, required a gathering to commemorate. So I took this opportunity to whip up the roasted eggplant crostini as well to feed our hungry guests.

THIRTY-FIVE & THIRTY-SIX : TRUFFLED MUSHROOM CROSTINI

AUGUST 23 2011

THIRTY-FIVE : CREMINI MUSHROOMS
THIRTY-SIX : CREMINI MUSHROOM & TRUFFLE OIL CROSTINI

Truffle oil.... yummmm. The End.

Okay, okay, there is more to say about this delicious dish than just that. Basically, this crostini is to die for! Roasted mushrooms are diced and tossed with chopped parsley, lots of olive oil, salt, white pepper and a few teaspoons of luscious, intoxicating truffle oil.

roasted cremini mushrooms

This mix gets heaped onto *toasted* crostini slices (that are brushed with parsley pesto, of course) and it's ready to eat! And so good.

ELEVEN ~ THIRTEEN : SWEET POTATO CROSTINI

JUNE 25 2011

ELEVEN : TOASTS FOR CROSTINI
TWELVE : PARSLEY PESTO
THIRTEEN : SWEET POTATO CROSTINI

There are 7 kinds of crostini in the antipasto section of Frankies and they all start with the toasts-for-crostini recipe that also requires the parsley pesto recipe. So when I decided to finish off the leftover sweet potato from Monday's dinner by trying the strange-sounding Sweet Potato Crostini, I had to start by making the other two.

Basically the crostini recipe requires brushing sliced baguette with parsley pesto and broiling for 2 minutes. No sweat! The parsley pesto is a blend of 1 cup parsley and 1 cup olive oil (yikes!) with garlic and seasoning. I would call it more of a parsley oil, myself. It is nice on the bread, although I feel it could use a little acid.



Crostini finished, I whipped the remaining sweet potato with olive oil, salt and white pepper until creamy and dolloped it on the toasts. My suspicions were confirmed; it was weird. There was something slightly appealing about the fluffy potato against the crunch of the crostini, but overall it was just weird.



For my second one, I brushed off all but a thin slick of potato and it was a little bit better. The parsley pesto could be tasted with just a hint of the potato. But, I will not be making this again. Just plain weird.