Seven-Vegetable Couscous

It took us all of April, but we finally got around to cracking the magazine turned cookbook of the month. We made the Seven-Vegetable Couscous for dinner last night.

The fragrance of all the spices was delicious and really whet our appetites. The meal did not disappoint, either. This was a delicious meal after a long day at work with very little nutritious eats throughout the day. I (Kim) scarfed it down and loved it!

We'll certainly make this again.

Eat Well,

Kimberly and David

Golden Gate Grilled Turkey and Cheese

I knew that I would love this sandwich. I mean, what's not to love? Tangy sourdough bread, gooey, melted muenster and rich, sharp parmesan cheese, buttery avocado, peppy (yes, I said peppy) cilantro, come together with smoked turkey breast and grilled in a spicy garlic butter. 'Nuff said. Initally I was confused by the addition of fresh cilantro to this sandwich but it really did add a nice pungent, herby flavor that cut the richness of the rest of the ingredients. Please do yourself a favor and make this sandwich!

buon appetito!

Tempa

Uova Benedetto

Breakfast on Easter Sunday!

This Italian take on eggs benedict was a really nice Easter morning breakfast. We made our own pesto since store bought just doesn't hold a candle to the real thing in my opinion! We loved the polenta as the base for this benedict but if we make again, we would definitely add an extra flavor boost to it by melting in some grated parmesan cheese as it turned out pretty bland. I just love the effect of crisping the polenta in a bit of butter as it gives the outside a light crunch while the inside remains soft. The crispy prosciutto, poached egg and pesto did add a lot of flavor and richness, so perhaps that is why the recipe didn't call to season the polenta at all, but in our opinion it could definitely benefit from more cheese. Come to think of it, most things could benefit from more cheese!

buon appetito!

Tempa

Penne with Oyster Mushrooms, Prosciutto, and Mint

This meal seemed to be the perfect marriage of winter and spring flavors: Cheesy pasta and mushrooms complimented with delicate and light, prosciutto and mint. We used whole wheat penne to boost the nutritional value of this dish. The oyster mushrooms were perfect, not too earthy, they added a pleasant chewiness to each bite. The fontina cheese melted really nicely over the pasta and mushrooms and the nuttiness of both the cheese and the whole wheat pasta together was super yummy! The mint did add an unexpected layer of flavor but we weren't wow-ed by it. The prosciutto was a nice finishing touch but could easily be left out to make this a vegetarian meal. Overall, we liked it, we just didn't love it!

buon appetito,

Tempa

Squash Dinner Rolls

Jim and I just returned from a trip to New York City to celebrate our 5 year anniversary! The city was everything that I thought it would be and more! We really enjoyed every minute (and every bite!). It may come as no surprise that New York has no shortage of amazing food and while eating out 3 meals a day for 6 days in a row is fun, not to mention delicious, I was anxious to get back into my own kitchen and dive into this month's cook"book"!

I have made it a personal mission to become adept at making yeast breads. Last summer I challenged myself to perfect homemade pizza dough and I'm proud to say that I really think I mastered it! When I saw the Squash Dinner Rolls on page 19, I thought it would be a perfect opportunity to try my hand at another type of yeast bread.

When you make these rolls, keep in mind that you've got to allow at least three hours of prep time, since a significant portion of the process is devoted to allowing the dough to rise. You've also got to be ready to get your hands dirty since you'll be kneading the dough which can be sticky.

The golden color of these rolls comes from the addition of pureed squash. The recipe indicates that you can use canned pumpkin but I decided to roast a butternut squash in the oven and then puree it in the food processor. Once the ingredients have been mixed and the dough comes together, it's time to let it rise in a lightly oiled bowl under a towel. I have found that one of the most satisfying moments in baking is the moment when you lift the towel off of a bowl of rising dough and find that it has doubled in size to a pleasing airy, fragrant mound.

Kneading the dough for a full seven minutes gives you a chance to really get a feel for the change in texture from sticky and loose to smooth and elastic.

After nestling balls of the dough together on the baking sheet, they get brushed with melted butter and sprinkled with poppy seeds (I used a mix of white and black sesame seeds). Finally, they need to rest and rise for an additional 30 minutes before going into the oven.

The flavor of the roasted squash wasn't completely apparent and they didn't have quite the vibrant color of the rolls in the picture, perhaps due to the fact that I used butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I served these rolls as an accompaniment to a hearty bowl of brisket and potato stew. A delightful, home cooked meal!

buon appetito!

Tempa

Salt-crusted Beets

I must admit: my love for beets lies more in their deep ruby color than in their earthy flavor. As much as I want to love eating them, I am still in my infancy stage of a mature beet palate. So, when I saw this recipe for Salt-crusted Beets with Avocado, Lavender, and Thyme I decided to make my next move towards becoming a Beet-Lover.

This salt crust mixture was so heavenly; it smelled like a high-end spa body scrub (I did actually exfoliate my hands with the remaining amount of lavender-scented salt. So. Soft.). I had never worked with a salt crust before, but I loved it! The beets were so tender, well seasoned with the slightest hint of lavender and thyme. It was a great method that I would also like to try translating to fish (which I have seen done on a whole fish). Ultimately, I would give the final salad a 2 1/2 (out of 5). It was ok, but I felt that everything was so good and perfectly seasoned until the lavender dressing. It was just too much lavendar for me and really overpowered the whole meal. I will definitely roast beets again, but next time I will try an alternate dressing for the salad.

Stephanie

Caramelized Carrot Risotto

I was very excited flipping through this new "cookbook"; the enticing colorful photos, a wide range of food options... I felt inspired to try something new. I have made risotto a number of times, but the idea of a Caramelized Carrot Risotto was a fresh take on the Italian staple, so I decided to give it a go. There was bit of prep work, but overall a painless process yielding delicious, smooth, slightly sweet, creamy results. I LOVED it! With fresh bits of thyme and parsley scattered throughout, it helped to balance the richness of the mascarpone cheese leaving a lovely first course meal. Um, confession... we ate this as a main course, of course. I would have to advice against this, however, unless you are in the mood for a small meal. The creaminess of the dish was a lot to eat alone, and would have been better suited as an accompaniment to a protein of some-sort. Regardless, I really liked this version of risotto and will be making it again!

Stephanie

Spicy Eggplant with Chicken

I wanted to get one more meal in from our Hawaiian cookbook before the end of the month, so we tried the Spicy Eggplant with Chicken (pg. 118). This was very simple and tasty. Brian is not a fan of eggplant but thought this was a good dish (he enjoyed this more). I could have used more spice, so if I make this again, it will be with additional peppers. I was actually beginning to think that there was a page missing from this recipe since the instructions just ended without really summing up what to do with the reserve spices... I just threw everything in at the end. I also thought there was not enough liquid in the sauce mixture ("cook until liquid is evaporated..") so I added a little water, which turned out to be a mistake; too much liquid after the bell peppers and onions released their juices. All in all it turned out ok and we had a nice little meal.

Stephanie

April's Cookbook

I love cooking magazines for many reasons. 1) Subscriptions to them are like getting a brand new cookbook in the mail every month for a year! 2) They take up very little space on my cookbook shelf and 3) For someone like me, who finds it difficult to make the same recipe twice - even my most favorite recipes - they give me the variety I crave at a fraction of the cost of purchasing a new cookbook every time I'm looking for new kitchen inspiration.

These are just a few of the reasons why I chose a cooking magazine for April's cookbook! Fellow Food Lovers, I present to you Best of the Sunset Cookbook!

Late last year Sunset magazine published a "masterwork collection" of over 1,000 recipes in The Sunset Cookbook. This magazine features 101 of the best recipes from that book and it's got a little bit of everything - from breakfast to dessert and everything in between. But wait, there's more! It's got full color photographs for every recipe and with the recipe index at the back, it really is like a special edition, best of the best cookbook. I hope you all enjoy!

Happy cooking!

Tempa

Here in the Pacific Northwest, when it feels like spring will never break through the gray, rainy days of winter, we really savor the promise of warmer weather by choosing recipes that remind us of sunny days to come. We were thrilled to try out some tropical flavors from Sam Choy's cookbook. I picked the Macadamia Nut Chicken Breast (pg. 112). What appealed to me about this recipe - beyond the fact that it sounded delicious - was that all I needed to get from the store was the macadamia nuts!

The whole meal really was a cinch to put together. We decided to amp up the tropical appeal by making some coconut rice as a side dish. This chicken would have been delicious with just the panko/macadamia nut coating but what really made it great was the Asian style marinade. We let the chicken sit in the marinade for over an hour to really let the flavors sink in prior to coating in the flour, egg and then panko/macadamia nut mixture.

The chicken turned out moist and flavorful inside and crunchy, golden-brown on the outside. Yum! I also made the Minted Pineapple-Papaya Marmalade (pg. 114) to go along with it but I substituted mango for the papaya since I happened to have a mango on hand. The marmalade was described as being a dipping sauce for the chicken but it was more like a chutney than a sauce which worked just as well. The coconut rice really was a nice addition to this meal. All we did was prepare rice as usual but used coconut milk instead of water.

Thanks for giving us an opportunity to bring some island flavor to the rainy Pacific Northwest!

Aloha!

Tempa