Green Beans With Sesame & Garlic

1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
1 Tbs peanut oil
3 large cloves garlic, each cut lengthwise into 4 slices
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp dark sesame oil
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce

1) Bring large pot of water to a boil.  Fill large bowl with ice water.  Boil beans for 4 minutes.  Using slotted spoon, immediately transfer beans to ice water.  Drain and dry beans.  This can be done up to 8 hours ahead; refrigerated beans until ready to use.
2) In wok or large, heavy skillet, heat peanut oil over high heat.  Add garlic and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 1 minute.  Transfer to small plate lined with paper towels to drain.  Set aside.
3) Add beans, sesame seeds and salt to wok.  Stir-fry, pressing beans against sides until charred in a few place, 2 to 3 minutes.  Transfer beans to serving bowl.
4) Add sesame oil, tamari or soy sauce and reserved garlic to pan.  Stir-fry until heated through, then add to beans and toss to combine.  Season to taste with freshly ground black pepper.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Review:  I served this over some cooked bulgur, to make it a meal.  I used frozen greens beans and basically skipped step one.  Therefore, I couldn't get my beans to char.  No biggie, the beans were still pretty yummy.  I can imagine this would be really awesome with haricots verts instead.  

Parmesan Pasta With Asparagus & White Beans

1 box pasta, any shape
2 Tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bunches asparagus, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 can white beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan

1) Prepare pasta according to package directions.  Drain and set aside.
2) Meanwhile, saute the garlic and asparagus in the olive oil for four minutes.  Add the white beans and cook for another four minutes.
3) Toss cooked pasta with asparagus mixture and Parmesan cheese.

Review:  This recipe was pretty basic, but yummy.  I'm becoming a big fan of pasta and beans.  It's a lot of starch, but is very hearty.  Mike made this and after tossing the spaghetti in the pot, wished he'd make penne.  I bet penne would have been great, but spaghetti was yummy, too.  :) 

Quesadilla Casserole

3 Tbs vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 (29-oz) can black beans, drained, 1/2 cup liquid reserved
1 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 (10-inch) flour tortillas
8 oz monterey jack cheese, shredded
1 cup store-bought green enchilada sauce

1) Preheat the oven to 400F. In a skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups black beans and mash into a chunky paste. Stir in the reserved liquid.
2) Grease a heavy, ovenproof skillet. In a bowl, combine the corn, parsley and remaining black beans. Place a tortilla in the skillet and spread with 1/3 cup mashed black bean mixture. Top with 2/3 cup corn-bean mixture and 1/2 cup cheese. Press to compress the layers. Repeat with the remaining tortillas, mashed black beans, corn-bean mixture and cheese.
3) Bake until the cheese is melted and the casserole is heated through, about 30 minutes. Transfer to the broiler and cook for 1 minute. Serve with the enchilada sauce.

Review:  This was supposedly a $10 meal.  I didn't add up the costs, but I figure it's close.  This was pretty yummy, but then again, I love enchilada sauce.  I made this dish in a springform pan, as I don't have an ovenproof skillet and I thought it was too tall for a pie plate.  Then, I had the dilemma of how to slice and serve it!  It sliced well with a spatula, but fell apart in the bowl.  Then, I poured enchilada sauce over it and it looked like soup.  Presentation failed, but taste was great.  Yum.

Indian Samosa Casserole

Crust
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbs vegetable oil

Filling
1 Tbs black or yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (1 1/4 lb)
1 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
1 medium carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp agave nectar or sugar
2 Tbs soymilk

1) To make crust:  Preheat oven to 375F.  Whisk together flours and salt in bowl.  Stir in oil until clumps form.  Add 6 to 10 Tbs cold water, 1 Tbs at a time, until dough holds together.  Shape into ball, cover with damp towel, and set aside.
2) To make filling:  Stir together mustard seeds, curry, ginger, cumin and red pepper flakes, if using, in bowl; set aside.
3) Cook potatoes in boiling salted water 15 minutes, or until tender.  Drain, return to pot, and mash, leaving small chunks.
4) Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, carrot and garlic, and saute 5 minutes, or until carrot is tender.  Move onion mixture to side of pan, and add mustard seed mixture in center.  Toast 30 seconds.  Stir in peas and broth.  Fold onion mixture into potato mixture; stir in agave nectar.  Season with salt and pepper, if desired.  Spread filling in 9-inch pie pan.  Set aside.
5) Roll out crust dough to 11-inch circle on floured work surface.  Cover filling with dough, pressing down to make sure no air pockets remain.  Trim away excess dough, and crimp edges with fingers.  Cut X in center to vent steam; brush with soymilk just before baking.  Place pie on baking sheet, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden.  Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Review:  Mike loves ordering samosas when we go to the Indian restaurant.  When I found this recipe, I knew I had to make it for him.  This wasn't as complicated as it initially seemed.  When done, the crust lifted right off the filling, so I cut the crust, took off a slice, then scooped out filling to go with the crust piece.  That seemed to work, though the presentation was ugly.  After it had been sitting quite a while longer, it was able to be sliced and served like a pie.  We liked the flavor, though Mike believed the spices should be doubled to taste more like a samosa.  I thought the spices were fine.  We omitted the red pepper flakes, as it didn't sound like something that belonged in the recipe, especially at such a small amount!

Christmas Pizza

1 cup warm water, about 110 degrees F
1 packet dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/4 cups flour (may use a little more or less)
1/2 teaspoon salt

1) To the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the warm water and yeast and sugar and stir to dissolve the yeast.

2) Add the olive oil, flour, and salt. Mix with the dough hook until the dough comes together and climbs up the dough hook.

3) Remove the dough from the mixer and, on a floured surface, form into a smooth ball shape.

4) Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with a clean towel. Place in a warm, draft free place for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size.

5) Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll to desired size.

6) Add toppings and cook until visibly done.  

Remove:  Every recipe I found for pizza dough used a stand mixer.  Why?  I did all this with a spoon and it worked just fine.  We initially wanted to use an Alton Brown recipe, but this morning I saw the recipe called for the dough to be refrigerated for 18 to 24 hours before baking.  Oops.  So, I went back to the internet search and Emeril got to be the dough winner.  The first pizza was sauce, spinach, tomatoes and goat cheese.  The second was mozzarella, tomatoes, spinach and black olives.  The dough recipe made almost two, thin crust pizzas.  Yum.

Turtle Pumpkin Pie

1/4 cup, plus 2 Tbs, caramel ice cream topping, divided
1 graham pie crust (6 oz)
1/2 cup, plus 2 Tbs, chopped pecans, divided
2 pkg (3.4 oz each) vanilla flavor instant pudding
1 cup cold milk
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tub (8 oz) cool whip, thawed, divided

1) Pour 1/4 cup caramel topping into crust; sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts.
2) Beat dry pudding mixes, milk, pumpkin and spices with whisk until well blended.  Stir in 1 1/2 cups cool whip; spoon into crust.
3) Refrigerate 1 hour.  Top with remaining cool whip, caramel topping and nuts just before serving.

Review:  My pie didn't set up well, so when I served it, it looked like a glob of yumminess.  The caramel topping is super runny and can't be put on before serving.  I tried and now I have a puddle of caramel topping in my pie container, not on the pie.  But, this is yummy.  (And I left out the nutmeg, so it may be yummier to others with the nutmeg added).

Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce

1 large onion, chopped
3 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbs minced garlic
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp dried basil leaves
2 (28-oz) cans whole Italian plum tomatoes, with their juices
3 whole heads roasted garlic, cloves removed from peels

1) In a large saucepan saute the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until soft and lightly golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, salt, balsamic vinegar, hot sauce, crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and basil, and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, crushing with your hands as you place them in the pan, and their juices. Stir to combine well and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a slow simmer and cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2) Add the roasted garlic cloves and stir to combine. Continue to simmer for 30 to 45 minutes longer, or until the flavors have come together.

3) Serve over pasta of choice.

Review:   Wow, 3 heads of roasted garlic?  Yeah, you could totally taste it.  This had an awesome, hearty taste.  However, this recipe makes enough sauce for two boxes of pasta.  We froze half of the sauce.  Yum, but you have to love roasted garlic.