Pecan Pesto Shells With Sausage

3/4 lb pasta shells or another short pasta
3 cups fresh parsley leaves
1/2 cup pecan halves
2oz grated Parmesan (about 1/2 cup)
Kosher salt and black pepper
6 Tbs olive oil
14oz vegetarian Italian sausage, sliced

1) Cook the pasta according to the package directions, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta and return it to the pot.
2) Pulse together the parsley, pecans, Parmesan, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper in a food processor until finely chopped. With the machine running, add 5 tablespoons of the oil and process until smooth.
3) Heat the remaining oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned.
4) Add the pesto, sausage and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water to the pasta and toss to coat (adding more cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce). Sprinkle with additional Parmesan to taste.

Review: This was one of those times where I took a meat-based recipe and made it vegetarian. The recipe talked about breaking down the sausage and I wonder if sausage shrinks. The vegetarian equivalent doesn't shrink and I ended up with a massive amount of food, much of which was sausage.  It's a good thing I thought this was yummy, otherwise I'd be horrified at the amount of food I'd waste. The pecan/parsley pesto was a nice change from typical pesto flavors. It isn't as sharp (likely due more to a lack of garlic), and has a bit of sweetness to it. This balanced well with the flavorful sausage.

Adapted from:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/pesto-pasta-sausage

Couscous With Carrots, Spinach & Pistachios

1 cup couscous
2 carrots, grated
3 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup chopped pistachios

1) Cook couscous according to package directions.
2) While the couscous is still warm, fold in the carrots, spinach and pistachios.
3) Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Review: I made this for Easter dinner. I misread the package directions and ended up using the whole box of couscous (about 4 cups). This meant I made enough to feed about 20 people. I fortunately had 11 people at dinner, but I still have enough to feed me all week. This was tasty, without all the flavors in balance. I particularly liked the addition of pistachios, which softened in the moist heat.

Adapted from:

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/couscous-carrots-spinach-pistachios

Banana Blueberry Popsicles

2 overripe bananas
6oz blueberries
5.3oz plain greek yogurt
1 Tbs sugar

1) Place all ingredients into blender and blend until uniformly mixed.
2) Pour into popsicle molds. Should make 8 popsicles, using Tovolo molds.
3) Freeze until solid, about 8 hours.

Review: I had two overripe bananas and didn't want to throw them away. I wanted to make banana bread, but the recipes I found called for 3-4 overripe bananas. I didn't want to make cookies (too many dirty dishes while my dishwasher is broken). So, I stumbled upon a Martha Stewart recipe. Of course, it was much more complicated. It also used too many bananas, so I thought I'd just make half a recipe and simplify it. Go figure, it still made so much that it filled both the mold sets I own. It definitely had a strong banana flavor, but it was cut with a vague berry flavor. It's nice when the flavors balance out!

Adapted from:
http://www.marthastewart.com/335598/banana-blueberry-swirl-popsicles

Mushroom, Spinach & Scallion Tart

1 lb mixed mushrooms, such as button & shiitake, stemmed & sliced 1/2 inch thick
2 Tbs olive oil, plus more for brushing
coarse salt
5 scallions, trimmed and sliced thinly
3 1/2 cups spinach, stemmed
10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
6 oz fresh goat cheese
3 large eggs
1/3 cup low-fat milk
3 Tbs chopped mixed herbs, such as dill and cilantro

1) Preheat oven to 425F. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss mushrooms with 2 Tbs oil, and season with salt. Spread in a single layer, and roast 10 minutes. Toss in the scallions, and roast 15 minutes more. Push mushrooms and scallions to one side, and place spinach on empty side; roast until wilted, about 3 minutes. Let cool briefly; squeeze spinach dry.
2) Lightly brush an 11x7 inch rectangular tart pan with oil. Working with one piece of phyllo at a time and keeping the rest covered with plastic wrap, brush a sheet of the pastry very lightly with oil. Fit into tart pan, leaving a 1-inch overhang. Brush a second sheet with oil, and fit into pan. Repeat with remaining sheets. Fold edges at top to make a border.
3) Crumple a double layer of foil into a rectangle the size of the bottom of the tart, and fit into crust to weigh down center. Place on a baking sheet, and bake until edges are golden and begin to set, about 7 minutes. Remove foil, and bake until golden all over, about 3 minutes more. (Tent edges with foil if browning too quickly.) Remove tart pan from oven.
4) Reduce oven to 375F. In a blender, puree goat cheese, eggs and milk until smooth; season with salt. Add herbs and pulse to combine. Spread vegetables over crust and pour custard over top.
5) Return tart pan to oven, and bake until custard is set, 20 to 23 minutes. Remove tart pan from oven and let cool 10 minutes on a wire rack. Remove sides of pan, and let tart cool at least 10 minutes more. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Review: I learned back in Maine, that frozen mushroom mixes are cheap and easy. I never found them in Idaho, but was happy to see them at Whole Foods! The frozen bag is cheaper than buying them fresh, they're already clean, and they're sliced nicely. I use them whenever possible, including tonight. It saved a ton of time. Especially considering this dish was not as easy as it was billed in the recipe title. I dirtied a lot of dishes, but tried to keep it to a minimum. Therefore, I roasted the veggies and cooked the tart in the same dish. I was also disappointed that the recipe called for 10 sheets, when there were about 20 in the box. I couldn't defrost the whole thing and try to refreeze half of it. So, I used the whole box. Unfortunately, it was gummy on the bottom. I probably could have cooked the phyllo a little longer before adding the filling, but I thought I was in the clear. Maybe next time I'll just make two tarts to use the box more efficiently. Regardless of all this drama, this was super tasty. I loved the goat cheese and dill combo. I also used basil, but didn't taste that at all.

Adapted from:
http://www.marthastewart.com/953795/mushroom-spinach-and-scallion-tart

Broccoli Rabe & Pecorino Tart

2 Tbs olive oil
1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 lb), cut into 1-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, sliced
freshly ground salt and black pepper
1 pkg frozen puff pastry (preferably Trader Joe's brand), thawed
8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
1/2 cup shredded Pecorino Romano

1) Preheat oven to 375F. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli rabe, garlic, 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper. Cook, tossing frequently, until the broccoli rabe is tender, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and let cool.
2) On a nonstick cooking sheet, lay out the two sheets of puff pastry (pricking holes if it's not Trader Joe's). Top with the mozzarella, broccoli rabe and Pecorino Romano.
3) Bake until the pastry is golden brown, 35 to 40 minutes. Cut into squares.

Review: I prefer to buy puff pastry at Trader Joe's, as it's cheap and it doesn't use high fructose corn syrup. It's a slightly smaller package than other brands (16oz vs 17.3oz), but it is also cut into 2 squares (instead of the 2 trifold pieces that other brands use). Therefore, this was perfect to fit onto one  cooking sheet and make two tarts. I ate 1/2 of a tart and was STUFFED. It was really bitter from the broccoli rabe, but the puff pastry was a little sweet. It was a great balance and was really tasty.

Adapted from:
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/broccoli-rabe-pecorino-tart

Cranberry Pecan Pie

1 1/2 cups pecan halves
1 cup fresh cranberries
1 9-inch prepared pie crust
3 large eggs
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbs butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt

1) Preheat oven to 350F. Spread pecan halves on baking sheet, and toast 5 to 7 minutes in oven, or until lightly browned and fragrant. (Do not overbake; pecans burn quickly.)
2) Meanwhile, lightly crush cranberries until broken, but not mashed. Spread in bottom of piecrust.
3) Whisk together eggs and sugar in bowl. Whisk in brown sugar, honey, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and salt. Stir in pecans, then pour filling over cranberries in piecrust, redistributing pecans and cranberries with fork, if necessary.
4) Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center of pie comes out clean. Serve warm.

Review: Oops - I forgot the butter! I read and reread this recipe countless times, but still managed to forget an ingredient. However, it wasn't missed! The pie was a little runny, even though I cooked it for 55 minutes. I'm not sure if that's because I missed the butter, or if it really just needs to be cooked for 60 minutes. It was still quite delicious. It had a spiced taste, despite only having a bit of cinnamon. It reminded me of mulled cider, mixed with pecan pie. The cranberries really topped the whole thing, as it gave just a bit of sweet/tart citrus taste. This will definitely be made again!!!

Adapted from:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/cranberry-pecan-pie/

Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce

1 lb wild mushrooms, trimmed and chopped coarsely

1 Tbs butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp thyme, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan

1) In a medium saucepan, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. 

2) Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. 

3) Add the cream, increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. 

4) Add the Parmesan, and adjust the seasonings to taste.

5) Serve over cooked pasta. Let rest for two minutes and serve.

Review: We've been doing a lot of our grocery shopping at Trader Joe's. They have a lot of great frozen meals that are both healthy and economically priced. This has been the death of my blog. On the other hand, they also tend to sell all sorts of random, awesome things. These types of things are typically sold for a limited period of time, so I grab them when I see them. However, I then end up with a motley collection of items in the cupboard. It's become my goal to eat my way through this mess and tonight I used three finds from Trader Joe's:

Of course, none of these were purchased at the same time, nor were they ever intended to be put together. However, I had the idea that a wild mushroom cream sauce would be great over gnocchi. I hit google to find recipes and then combined some ideas and made this recipe (an original?!). It turned out wonderfully tasty, though I initially had too much sauce for so little gnocchi. After two minutes, it congealed nicely and no longer looked like soup. I think it might also be tasty if it was made with gruyere instead of Parmesan.

Now, what to do with the jar of salted caramel sauce?