Timbale, Hey!

Dinner Menu:
Arugula Salad with apples
Roasted Acorn Squash with brown sugar and butter
Timbale with Smokey Roasted Tomato and Chile Sauce
Banana Cake

Figuring this stuff out isn't easy. A glance into our heads:

me: name for friday's dinner? for the post

Alayna: oh Timbale Hey!

not oh timbale...

just

Timbale! (Rhymes with Hey!)

i dont' knwo

or dinner

OH

me: got it

Alayna: i know

MY BABY GOT SAUCE

me: uhm, we'll see

Alayna: like the song

me: yeah, got it

Alayna: c'mon

me: i can't believe that was your blog title break through idea

Might not be the best title but this dinner is da bomb diggity. Everyone should roast an acorn squash for dinner, it makes your dinner plate look really pretty and it's cheap and it's delicious. What more could you possibly want?

I encourage you to copy this dinner party and impress you're own friends.

Timbale with Smokey Roasted Tomato and Chile Sauce

• Grate one small (or half of a large) zucchini with a cheese grater, then put into a colander and toss with salt. Let sit for half an hour then squeeze out the excess water before using
• Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan and then add one finely chopped yellow onion, followed by the kernels from 3 ears of sweet corn and small handfuls of chopped parsley and cilantro, followed by the zucchini
• Add 4 shots of tequila (or 1/4 cup of white wine) and let it simmer until the liquid has cooked off, add a small handful of chopped parsley and cilantro to the sauce when it's simmering
• Beat 5 eggs in a separate bowl, adding 2/3 a cup of heavy cream, adding the vegetables when they have cooled and a few shakes of hot pepper, black pepper and salt
  
• Pour the mixture into a deep 8 inch souffle pan (I used an 8 in baking dish instead) that is liberally coated in butter and bread crumbs
• Cook at 325 for about 45 minutes (the top should be golden brown and the custard should not shake if you tap the center)
• Let cool for a few minutes before serving

Smokey Roasted Sauce

• Cut 6-8 very ripe tomatoes in half and place face down on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven at 350 for about half an hour until skins peel of easily and bottoms are a little burnt
• In a separate dish, cut the tops off two cloves of garlic and place them in a pan with 4-5 dry passilla peppers. Put in the oven (I did this while the timbale and squash were cooking) and take the chiles out when they have puffed up (about 15 min) and the garlic out when it is good and soft
• When everything has cooled a little, peel the garlic and de-seed the chiles, blending the mixture in a food processor, then put in a saucepan at a low simmer until you're ready to serve it on top of the timbale

Arugula Salad

• Cut up two apples (I used one red delicious and I believe a braeburn... you want things that are crisp and tangy!) and put on a generous bed of arugula with a sprinkling of hazelnuts
• For the dressing, mix grapeseed oil with balsamic vinegar and fresh rosemary and a dash of cinnamon to taste.... dress right before serving

Roasted Acorn Squash

• Halve acorn squashes (one half per guest), empty out the seeds with a spoon and put in the oven at 350 for about 30-40 minutes (longer if you cook them at 325 with the timbale)... they are finished when you can easily stick a fork through the flesh
• Serve with butter and brown sugar so guests can season to taste

Banana Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350
• Cream 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup of white sugar and 3/4 cup of brown sugar until light and fluffy
• Beat in 2 eggs, one at a time
• Mash 4 ripe bananas thoroughly and add to the mix
• In a separate bowl, mix 2 1/2 cups of floor with 1 tablespoon of baking soda with some salt, about 2 teaspoons of black pepper and some cinnamon
• If you don't have buttermilk on hand (who does?) make it by adding about a tablespoon of lemon juice (half a lemon) to heavy cream and letting it sit for five minutes
• Beat in the flour and milk mixtures thoroughly by alternating between the two
• Stir in about half a cup of hazelnuts, half a cup of macadamia nuts, and a handful of craisins
• Bake for 40 minutes until top is browned and a toothpick comes out of the middle clean
• Serve with home-made whipped cream (mix some whipping cream with an eggbeater until you can make a ditch with your finger that holds, then add a teaspoon of vanilla and sugar to taste)

End of Summer Delight

A sad sad sad end of summer dinner, even though the company was lovely. Our menu was bacon wrapped prunes, roasted tomato and zucchini tart, a spinach salad, sweet potato mashed potatoes and apple cobbler for dessert. Overall, there was a touch of autumn, but the the flavor of summery goodness. AND my brand new dish set has been broken in! So here it is, our end of summer dinner party...


Bacon-Wrapped Prunes

• Wrap each dried prune in about half a piece of bacon, securing with a toothpick
• Place on a tin-foil covered baking sheet and bake at 400 for about 10-12 minutes (until bacon is crispy)
• Serve!

Roasted Zucchini and Tomato Tart:

• First, thinly slice a large onion and saute in olive oil over low heat to carmelize (this will take a while, so let it hang out while you're preparing the other veggies). In the last few minutes you'll add about 3 cloves of thinly chopped garlic
  
• Pre-heat oven to 375 and slice up 2 medium zucchini in thinish rounds and 3-4 plum tomatoes. Lay them on baking sheets and, using a pastry brush, lightly coat them with olive oil and sprinkle on some salt and pepper before roasting them in the oven for about 10 minutes per side (are ready when the zuch is golden brown)
• While your veggies are roasting, make your crust (same crust as the summer tomato tart! It's just so delicious!

• Pulse 1 stick of cold butter (sliced), 1.5 cups of flour, some salt, lemon zest from one lemon & .5 cup of Parmesan cheese together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand. When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).
• Roll the dough out to about a 12 in circle (or any other shape... we did a rectangle!) Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a greased pan. If your crust breaks in the move (like ours did), just push the pieces back together with your fingers on the baking tray
• Put the carmelized onion and garlic onto the tart crust, then arrange the roasted zucchini and tomato nicely, and slice about half of a big ball of mozerella to layer on the top with some fresh thyme leaves. Leave about an inch from the edge of the crust so that you can fold and pinch it up to keep all the juices in. Pinch closed any weak spots or holes and bake for about 30-40 minutes (crust should be golden brown before you take it out)
• Let cool a little and serve!

Sweet Potato Mash

• Boil peeled sweet potatos
• Drain and mash them, adding a little salt, some fresh goat cheese and a brown sugar to taste

Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing

• For salad, toss baby spinach, walnuts, red grapes and fresh goat cheese
• For the dressing, mix balsamic vinegar, stone mustard (or any mustard), olive oil, a dash of cinamon and some rosemary with a touch of sugar or honey. Let sit for a little while and adjust to taste.

Apple Cobbler

• Thinly slice some apples and place in a baking dish
• Mix about 1/2 a cup of sugar, with 3 tablespoons of flour and some sprinkles of dry ginger and cinnamon. Pour over the apples in your baking dish
  
• mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 a cup of flour with some more shakes of cinnamon, then cut in about 6 tablespoons of butter until it looks like chunky bits (not too big, but there shouldn't be dry mix left behind)
  
• sprinkle onto the apples and cook at 375 farenheit for about 45 minutes

Ceviche & Elephant mugs et al.

Oh, we know we know we know... we haven't given you a Friday dinner in forever, and now that we are, it's a cheat, because it's easier to make on Saturday (ceviche has to sit for a while!).

But! You'll be happy to know that it was a wonderful dinner. Highlights included (but were not limited to) cooking with acid (as in, lime juice), the premier of my elephant mugs, Carrie and Amal figuring out how to make a free clear plastic poncho look hot, and general wonderfulness.

And we promise now that people are trickling back into town for their weekends, we'll be much better at updating.

Without further ado, a four part dinner for your pescatarian friends!

watermelon salad

• before you start the salad, mix a few glugs of balsamic vinegar (basically as much salad dressing as you need) and a big spoonful of honey. if you are fancy, you can reduce this concoction. if you are tired, you can just give it a bit of time to dissolve, stirring occasionally
• take one bag of arugula, and put it in a bowl
• chop about 1/4 of a big seedless watermelon (or half of a small) into bite-sized pieces, and put onto the arugula
• top with feta cheese and your dressing

asparagus

• cut the very bottom of the stems off of a bunch or two of asparagus, and then chop the remaining stems in half (so they fit better and are easier to stir)
• put into a big flat pan with a little (about an 1/8 inch) water on the bottom, and cook on medium heat, stirring occassionally, until all of the asparagi(??) are bright green
• turn off the stove and drain the water
• add a few tabs of butter in the pan with a few spoonfuls of capers and caper juice and the juice of one lemon. to be fancy, serve with lemon slices on top

ceviche

• cut about a pound and a quarter of grey sole fillets (or any other white fish) into bite sized pieces and put into a bowl... not too big or they'll need to "cook" longer
• cover with fresh lime juice (about 10 limes)
• add the following, all diced, and stir: half a red pepper, a jalepeno pepper (or two, if you like spicey), a handful of cilantro, about half a small red onion, 3-4 cloves of garlic
• top off with some salt and pepper, and let sit in the refrigerator covered for at least 3 hours
• when the fish is done being "cooked", it looks just like regular fish! white and opaque... if eating alone, it can be eaten on saltines or tostados, on leftover rice and beans or plain

rice and beans

• for six people, I made about a cup (dry) of rice.... the ration for rice is 1c rice to 2c water
• in a medium pan, sautee 5-6 cloves of garlic, the other half of your red onion, and some chili pepper
• once they transparent, add 2 cans of drained black beans
• toss in 1-2 chopped tomatos and a handful of chopped cilantro and season with salt and pepper, and simmer slowly for as long as possible so all the flavors mix without the beans getting too soupy
• serve on top of the rice!

blueberry cobbler

• in a mixing bowl, cover 2 boxes of blueberries with about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of sugar, 3 tablespoons of flour and some sprinkles of allspice and stir until coated. pour into your pie pan
• mix 1/3 cup of sugar and 1/3 a cup of flour with some more shakes of allspice, then cut in about 6 tablespoons of butter until it looks like chunky bits (not too big, but there shouldn't be dry mix left behind)
  
• sprinkle onto the blueberries and cook at 400 farenheit for about 30 minutes
• eat! maybe with ice cream?

Enjoy!

Friendly Fajitas

Alayna called me to tell me to come home because she was having a dinner party but sadly I had to tell her I was on the LIRR headed to a house with a pool and secret hiding closets.

Still I was sad I missed it. And I was REALLY sad when I saw these pictures. How good does this look? Mexican & Vegetarian wonders!

By the way, sorry I have to interject. Are Alayna and I the only ones on earth who watch "I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here?" We started watching because all the shows we used to watch during soup night had their season finales. I just want to give a shout out right now to Holly and Sanjaya. My new all time favorite couple. I'm not kidding. I think Holly might be kicked off because she can't drink the Dung Beetle Nut daiquiri that fast and Alayna can testify that I'm sort of teary-eyed.

Right. This meal is NOT made of Dung Beetle Nuts. So there's that.
Okay friends, lets eat!

AMAZING FAJITAS OF AMAZINGNESS (AKA PORTOBELLA MUSHROOMS)

• first wrap your tortillas (the big kind) in a slightly damp, clean dishtowel and heat the oven to 250, popping them in on a cookie sheet, so that they get warm without getting dry
  
• slice up 6-8 cloves of garlic and coarsely chop about half a red onion and saute in olive oil, adding a couple of red (hot) peppers, chili powder, AND, the secret ingredient, a couple of shakes of CINNAMON
  
• add a sliced up zucchini, cut into 1/2s or 1/4s and cover pot (keep covered through-out)
  
• add about 3 mushrooms (I keep everything but the very end of the stem) cut into pinky width slices
• add in half a pepper each of red, yellow and green (or any combination)
• once everything is cooked through, take out your tortillas and serve with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and the guac!

GUACAMOLEEEE

• cut two avocados into fourths, then slice the fourths and pop the avocado out into a bowl
• finely dice 4-6 cloves of garlic and throw in
• finely dice about 2 pinky-wide rings of red onion and toss them in too!
• do the same to about 1/2 a red pepper
• and some plum or cherry tomatoes
• toss in some coarsely chopped cilantro while you're at it (some people... eg, Bagel, dislike cilantro... apparently it can taste like soap to people with certain genes, so you might want to get a gene check on your guests before they come)
• squeeze the juice from 2 limes into your bowl
• add some salt and pepper
• now MASH! or make your nearest available, most hyper-est guest do it if you are too lazy to cook before people get to your house because you are a collaborative person who like sharing in the experience, as well as the food ;)

PLATANOS MADUROS

• get the blackest plantains you can find (the blacker they are, the sweeter, which means more caramelized awesomeness)
• slice into pointer finger thickness, and place into the frying pan of olive oil while the oil heats up
• flip fairly frequently so that they don't get burnt and take out when they're a nice golden brown (or black for more carmelizyness)
• can be served plain, or with fresh goat cheese. both are delicious. one is fancier.

Oooh, Alayna, nice plate!

Summer Starter Dinner

What a lovely dinner we have for you! It's a super light and healthy but a highly satisfying meal. I'm a pretty big fan. This dinner was sparked because Lindsay had flown in from London for the weekend... I pretty much just mentioned that because it sounds so cool... Which was fun and overshadowed the fact that our dearest third mate Kate was moving out. Off to sunnier skies and better produce. Sigh. 

It also came out that Kate had no idea Friday Dinner's blog exists which was hard for me to understand as I'm pretty sure it's the only thing Alayna I talk about, minus the cat. 

Okay, ready, set, go: 

Baked Salmon, Arugula Awesome, Mango, Strawberry & Mint Salad, AND CousCous Crazy

I know, what exciting names! And four courses! But it's so easy. What a dream. Read on.

Lauren Cook, a mango and Alayna. Whipping together the fruit/mint salad. Lauren, I have to admit, is still the winner for most enthusiastic Monday Soup fan. The competition is on-going, but Lauren is doing pretty darn well. (Example: Opening the door for Gavin and introducing herself this way: "Hi, I'm Lauren, you may recognize me from the Monday Soup's blog."

This has nothing to do with dinner. I'm just showing off my dress. 

Slicing the mangoes.

Setting the table! So many goblets!

Eating!!

Here We Go:

Baked Salmon:

Put salmon in a pyrex dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the salmon, and then sprinkle with thyme. Cook at 375 for about 30 min. When fish is cooked through, it should flake away easily with a fork and be a consistent pink color all the way through.

CousCous Crazy:

Make couscous according to instructions. Once it is cooked through, add a handful of chopped parsley, about half a red onion (chopped), 2 roma tomatoes (chopped) and chopped red pepper (about half a pepper). Stir in a big bowl and serve.

Arugula Awesome:

Cut a large gala (or other type... preferably crispy!) apple into bite size slices and put onto a bed of arugula. Shred parmesean-romano cheese on top (i like a lot). For salad dressing, mix the juice from half a lemon, about a spoonful of honey, and a tiny splash of olive oil (about 1tsp)... mix well and then toss into salad. The lemon will keep the apple slices from browning so you can make ahead.

Mango, Strawberry & Mint Salad:

Wash and cut up mangoes, strawberries and mint. Mix them in a bowl. Delicious.

For dessert we had Rhubarb Crisp, thanks to Lindsay's magic. Lindsay add the recipe as a comment to this post so we can all copy the recipe and eat that wonderful thing again. Thank you.

That is the end of Rhubarb Crisp.

I'll leave you with a series I call, "How I look when I describe the stabbing I witnessed on our street yesterday." 

Tomato Tart & Veggie Friends

Want to impress the veggie lovers in your life? Want to impress the stubborn eaters in your life who might eat red meat one too many times a month? Want to impress them all at the same time? 

This is your tart. 

This dinner party happened last week with Alayna and her lady folk and then I repeated it when my parents and extended family came over for brunch. All parties were impressed. And see that, this is both a good dinner and a good brunch. Excellent.

And it's easy to make-- even if it's 10am on a Saturday and you're a little hungover like I might have been and you're entire family is about to bust into your apartment and you are still in your pajamas-- whatever the circumstances, you will impress someone. 

Here we go: Tomato Tart*, Veggie Salad & Spinach and Mushrooms

*Tomato Tart is a slightly modified version of Meredith's tart. Thanks Meredith.

Pastry:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 stick of cold, unsalted butter cut into pieces
1/2 tspn salt
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1/4 c. ice water

Filling:
1 1/2 to 2 tbspn dijon mustard
2 tbspn Parmesan cheese
small handful of chopped basil
some shakes of thyme
small handful of chopped parsley
2 cloves of garlic, minced
salt & pepper
6-8 plum tomatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
1 tbspn olive oil
1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 tspn water

Pulse the butter, flour, salt, lemon zest & Parmesan together in a food processor, hand mixer or by hand.  When it has formed a coarse meal, add water slowly until the dough binds. Can either be used immediately, or made ahead and refrigerated(let it soften to room temp for 30 min if chilled).

Preheat the over to 425.  Roll the dough out on a floured surface to make a 12 inch circle.  Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper (NOTE! PARCHMENT PAPER IS NOT THE SAME AS WAX PAPER... we discovered this once the smell of burning started coming out of the oven and ended up transferring everything to a pie pan to prevent fire. Meredith says you can also just use a greased pan if you don't have parchment).  Using a pastry brush, spread the mustard over the surface, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.  Sprinkle with Parmesan.

Mix all the herbs and the salt & pepper in a bowl.  Arrange half of tomato slices over the mustard and sprinkle with half of the herb mixture.  Repeat.  Fold the edge of the pastry over the tomatoes, and pinch any cracks to keep juices in while baking.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Brush crust with yolk mixture.  Bake for20-25 minutes, until crust is golden brown.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  Serve warm.

Salad!

Cut up cucumber, avocado, tomato and red/yellow peppers if you have them, mix with a handful of chopped fresh basil and drizzle with balsamic

Optional addition: I added some mango and it was awesome.

Mushrooms & Spinach

Slice 4-6 cloves of garlic and saute on low heat in walnut or olive oil in a big pot. After about a minute, add in a box of sliced baby bella (or really any type) of mushrooms and saute until they start to cook through. Once the mushrooms are getting softer, add in a bag of spinach and stir to distribute oil. Cover and let cook slowly, stirring occasionally. Add rock salt to tast.

Happy Tomato Tarts.

PS I wanted to post the after pictures of this dinner party but Alayna didn't let me. But let me say, tart makes people crazzzzy.

Penne a la Vodka, Salad & Fruit & Cream

Mmm. Hmm. Scratching your head are we? Thinking to yourself, boy, does that pot of sauce sure look like that tomato soup Monday's Soup made in February of this year?

Sure does.

Sure done does.

This is how soup is so brilliant. It can be more than one thing. Watch as we impress a room full of ladies with a sauce that is actually a soup. 

Nooo you didn't.

Yes we did.

Girls had no idea. Suckers.

Who knew our apartment was so big? 

Well, Alayna and I do after she made me tape measure the whole thing. 

Anyone want to sublet a room?

Right. So here are the girls. Drinking wine, swapping stories of people peeing on the subways (other people) and the ilk.

Pasta is cooking. Sauce is simmering. Folks are relaxing.

(It's late right now. And I think I'm delirious. But I'd be too sad for Lauren Cook if I didn't post this by tomorrow.)

And it's time to eat. I do believe Kate Zimmer said something along the lines of, "How many helping can I eat and still wear a waistband tonight?"

Is that even true? I swear you said something like that.

And I had three helpings.

But I NEVER wear waistbands.

Lauren Cook, ladies and gentlemen. Monday's Soup fan of the week.

Looks like some good times.

Alayna makes whipping cream in the corner. 

That's where the blender is. When you live in Manhattan you do things like this.

And then we started playing cat in the bag.

You can't see. But there is a cat in the bag.

Hmmm. What's in that ole rain boot?

Why it's a cat!

Okay, I know, what did we make already. Here you go... 

Penne a la Vodka (or pasta with tomato soup but that does NOT sound fancy)

Ingredients

2 big cans of crushed tomatoes
6- 8 cloves of garlic chopped
red pepper (like the spice not the vegetable)
heavy cream
olive oil
a bunch of basil, chopped

Now Do This... 

Saute chopped garlic in big soup bowl. 
Add a generous portion of red pepper.
When sauteed dump in the two cans of crushed tomatoes and stir
Add the basil (a lot of basil)
Let simmer for about 30 minutes
Add as much heavy cream as desired, depending on your tomato soup cream preference and cook about five more minutes, then turn off... i like to let it cool a little before it's served so it thickens a little
serve with penne pasta

SALAD:
spinach, seedless red grapes, chopped walnuts and chopped almonds
dressing:

olive oil, a large spoonful of mustard (not yellow, but any of the other kinds), a small spoonful of sugar and 2-3 caps of white vinegar
adjust to your own taste, stir with a fork and let sit for at least 10 min before serving

DESSERT:
blackberries, blueberries and strawberries 
whipped cream:

mix heavy cream and about 1 tablespoon of vanilla either in the blender on "aerate" or by hand with a whisk. NOTE: the cream should be cold to do this! otherwise it won't foam!
once the cream is stiff, add sugar to taste (don't need much) and serve!

THANK GOODNESS FOR AIR HOLES!