White Beans Puttanesca

Ingredients:

• 2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped


• 3 cloves garlic, minced


• ¼ - ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes


• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil


• 2 plum tomatoes, coarsely chopped


• ⅓ cup Kalamata olives, pitted, coarsely chopped


• 1 tablespoon capers, drained, chopped


• 1 can cannellini beans, (19 oz) rinsed and drained


• ¼ cup basil, chopped

Directions:
Cook anchovies, garlic, and red-pepper flakes in oil in a medium skillet over medium heat, stirring, until anchovies dissolve, about 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes with olives and capers and cook until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes.

Stir in beans and simmer 3 minutes. Add basil.

(Serves 4)



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Sour Cream Muffins

Ingredients:

• 2 cups self-rising flour, sifted


• 12 tablespoons butter, melted


• 1 cup sour cream

Directions:
Melt butter in large measuring cup then add sour cream, then flour; spoon into small, ungreased muffin tins. Bake at 350 for 20-30min.

NOTE: Freeze well

NOTE: added chives

NOTE: 2x recipe = 56

NOTE: 3x recipe = 82

(Serves --)



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Slow-roasted Summer Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• olive oil


• kosher salt


• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 cup


• 4 ½ - 5 pounds tomatoes, (about 12) medium-large ripe beefsteak , stemmed but not cored


• kosher salt


• sugar


• 1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar, scant


• 3-4 cloves garlic, very thinly sliced


• 2 tablespoons thyme leaves, fresh

Directions:
Don’t use unrimmed baking sheets or the oil and juices will spill out; instead, use several shallow gratin dishes if you don't have rimmed baking sheets.
Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 12x17-inch rimmed baking sheet or two 9x12-inch rimmed baking sheets with foil. If you have parchment, put a sheet on top of the foil. Coat the pan or pans with 3 Tbs. of the olive oil.

Cut the tomatoes in half through the equator (not through the stem). Arrange the halves, cut side up, on the baking sheet, turning to coat their bottoms with some of the oil. Sprinkle a pinch each of salt and sugar over each half, and drizzle each with a few drops of balsamic vinegar. Arrange the garlic over the halves and top with a generous sprinkling of thyme. Pour the remaining 1 cup olive oil over and around the tomato halves.

Roast in the center of the oven until the tomatoes are concentrated, dark reddish brown (with deep browning around the edges and in places on the pan) and quite collapsed (at least half their original height; they will collapse more as they cool), about 3 hours for very ripe, fleshy tomatoes, about 4 hours for tomatoes that are less ripe or that have a high ­water content. Let cool for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then serve warm or at room temperature. Be sure to reserve the tomato oil (keep refrigerated for up to a week) to use on its own or in a vinaigrette.

Quicker-cooking variation: Remove the seeds and gelatinous pulp (poke them out with your fingers) before roasting. These tomatoes cook more quickly (check for doneness after 2 hours) but yield a slightly flatter, less meaty—but perfectly pleasant—result.

Plum tomato variation: Substitute plum tomatoes, cut in half through the stem end and seeded. The roasting time will be about 2 hours. Roasted plum tomato halves hold together particularly well; layer them in a terrine or roll them up, stuffed with goat cheese and basil, as an appetizer.

Make ahead tips:

To store the tomatoes, refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to a couple of months. They’ll continue to release juice during storage.

(Serves --)

Slow-roasting, which caramelizes and intensifies the flavor tomatoes and gives them a meatier, more robust texture, is a perfect way to preserve these summer gems. Once you've roasted the tomatoes, they'll keep in the freezer for months.

If you don’t have fresh thyme, you can use another fresh hardy herb like oregano or rosemary—or leave it out altogether.

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Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Chef Peacock - Watershed Restaurant Decatur GA

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon sugar


• 1 teaspoon kosher salt


• ¼ teaspoon pepper


• 28 oz Italian plum tomatoes, can, drained


• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°; lightly butter 8"baking dish. Stir together sugar, salt & pepper in small cup. Put tomatoes in dish; sprinkle with sugar mixture. Dot tomatoes with butter; bake until partailly collapsed and deeply caramelized (1-2h).

Serve warm or at room temp.

NOTE: can be roasted 2 days ahead and warmed.

(Serves --)



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Quinoa with Mango and Curried Yogurt

Active time: 20 min Start to finish: 45 min

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup plain yogurt


• 1 tablespoon lime juice, fresh


• 2 teaspoons curry powder


• 1 teaspoon ginger root, finely grated


• ¾ teaspoon salt


• ¼ teaspoon black pepper


• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, or peanut oil


• 1 ⅓ cups quinoa, (7 1/2 oz)*


• 1 pound mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (2 cups)


• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice


• 1 jalapeno chile, seeded (if desired for less heat) and minced


• ⅓ cup mint, fresh, chopped


• ½ cup peanuts, (2 1/2 oz) salted roasted ,chopped

Directions:
Whisk together yogurt, lime juice, curry powder, ginger, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add oil in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Rinse quinoa in a bowl using 5 changes of water, rubbing grains and letting them settle before pouring off water (if quinoa does not settle, drain in a large sieve after each rinsing). Cook quinoa in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water 10 minutes. Drain in a large sieve and rinse under cold running water. Set sieve with quinoa over a saucepan containing 1 1/2 inches boiling water (sieve should not touch water) and steam quinoa, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, 10 to 12 minutes. Toss quinoa with curried yogurt and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature. *Available at specialty foods shops, natural foods stores, and ethnicgrocer.com (866-438-4642).


NOTE: did not add jalapeno, mint or peanuts -- still delicious!

NOTE: Begin w/1.5 c quinoa (lose some while rinsing) and add a bit of Splenda to dressing.

(Serves --)



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Pork Wellington

Ingredients:

• 2 pork tenderloins


• 4 ounces boursin cheese


• 1 tablespoon olive oil


• 6 ounces prosciutto, (3oz per tenderloin)


• puff pastry, (rolled to 16"x2")


• 1 egg, beaten w/1T water

Directions:
Butterfly and stuff tenderloins with boursin cheese. Roll the tenderloins in the thinly sliced prosciutto; sear in 1T olive oil. Wrap each tenderloin in 2/3 sheet of puff pastry rolled to 16"x12"; cut decorations out of remaining puff pastry. Brush with egg/water wash. Cover w/plastic; chill 1h or up to 24h.

Prehat oven to 400 w/rackin lower third. Brush w/more egg wash for good browning. Bake 30-35m; let rest 5m before slicing.

NOTE: I served with port wine sauce.

NOTE: Froze them uncooked -- worked great.

(Serves --)



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Pasta Puttanesca

Our take on this dish, famously named for the fact that Italy's "ladies of the evening" quickly made it between clients, is just as fast and easy as the original and requires nothing more than some everyday items you probably have in your pantry already.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound spaghetti, spaghettini, or linguine fini


• 5 cloves garlic , forced through a garlic press


• 2 teaspoons anchovy paste


• ½ teaspoon hot red-pepper flakes


• ⅓ cup olive oil


• 1 can whole tomatoes, (28-oz) can, in juice (preferably Italian)


• ½ cup Kalamata olives, pitted


• 2 tablespoons capers, drained


• pinch sugar, (optional)


• ¾ cup basil, coarsely chopped

Directions:
Cook spaghetti in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 1/2 Tbsp salt for 6 qt water) until barely al dente.

While pasta boils, cook garlic, anchovy paste, red-pepper flakes, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper in oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and pale golden, about 2 minutes.

Meanwhile, purée tomatoes with juice in a blender.

Add tomato purée to garlic oil along with olives and capers and simmer, stirring occasionally, until pasta is ready. Stir in sugar if desired.

Drain pasta and add to sauce. Simmer, turning pasta with tongs, until pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with basil.

(Serves --)



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