Grapefruit Pound Cake

It's time again for the Eating the Alphabet Healthy Recipe Challenge hosted by Brenda from Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were G or H and participants had to make a recipe using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or bean that begins with one of those letters.  Last year I ended up cooking with guava, which I had never cooked with before.  This year I went a little tamer with grapefruit.  First because I got a five pound bag of them on sale at the grocery store.  Second, it's a fruit the whole family loves.  And finally, I had ripped this recipe out of an old Cooking Light magazine intending to make it at some point....and that time has come!  The one major change I made to this recipe was that I used a loaf pan instead of the 10-inch tube pan that the original recipe called for.  I don't own one, nor really forsee myself needing one again!  I debated whether or not to make the glaze but in the end went for it.  The grapefruit in this recipe doesn't really stand out too much, but gives the cake and glaze a slight citrus tang.  We all enjoyed it....especially warm, right out of the oven!  Go check out the other bloggers below who have joined the Eating the Alphabet Challenge....or even better, check out the link above and join us next month!

Grapefruit Pound Cake
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, January 2012

Ingredients:
Baking spray
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
5/8 teaspoon salt, divided
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
6 ounces 1/3-less-fat cream cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons grated grapefruit rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup fresh grapefruit juice
 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar

 Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325°.

2. Coat a 9x5 inch pan with baking spray. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well. Place granulated sugar, butter, and cream cheese in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in oil, rind, and vanilla.

3. Add flour mixture and milk alternately to batter, beginning and ending with flour. Spoon batter into pan; bake at 325° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs clinging. Cool in pan on a wire rack 10 minutes. Invert cake. Cool on rack.

4. Place juice in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 3 tablespoons (about 4 minutes). Cool slightly. Stir in powdered sugar and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Drizzle over cake.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Sauteed Eggplant with Honey and Thyme

It's that time again for Eating the Alphabet Recipe Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were E/F and I had to make a recipe using a fruit, vegetable, grain, or legume that begins with one of those letters.  Although I make eggplant often because I like it, the kids don't.  I really try to embrace this challenge each month and try cooking with a new veggie or legume. But when I saw this recipe at A Spicy Perspective and Sommer said, " This my friends… is how to cook eggplant. This is how to get the reluctant eggplant-eater on board" I had to try this.  I really want my kids to like eggplant!  Unfortunately, this recipe did not make them like eggplant.  I was sure it would since they love honey!  But they ate 4 bites each for me and called it quits.  I liked the taste of the eggplant after soaking in milk overnight and then dredged in flour and fried.  I actually preferred the eggplant without the honey and thyme.  I was eating pieces of this eggplant topped with some sliced mozzerella on italian bread and it was delicious!  If you have a reluctant eggplant eater you may want to give this recipe a try. 

Sauteed Eggplant with Honey and Thyme
recipe from A Spicy Perspective

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
2 cups milk
½ cup flour
3-5 Tb. olive oil
3 Tb. honey
2 Tb. fresh thyme leaves
Sea Salt

Directions:
Peel the eggplant and slice it into thin 1/8 inch rounds.

Place the eggplant slices in an airtight container and pour the milk over it. Cover and refrigerate over night.

In a small pie pan, mix the flour with 1 tsp. salt. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Line a plate with paper towels.

When the oil is hot, dredge a few slices of eggplant in the flour and tap off the excess. Gently place them in the skillet and pan fry for 2 minutes per side. Remove and place on the plate to drain.

Repeat with the rest of the eggplant, adding oil to the skillet as needed. Sprinkle the slices with a little more sea salt as they come out of the skillet.

Serve warm, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with thyme.

Family Rating: So-so.

Black-Eyed Pea Chili

I am so happy that Brenda from Meal Planning Magic is once again hosting the Eating the Alphabet Challenge.  I participated last year and completed most months.  Each month is assigned a couple of letters.  The challenge is to make a recipe that features a fruit, vegetable, legume, or grain that begins with one of the letters. This is the first month and the featured letters are A or B.

Last year I joined the challenge during the second month, so I missed these letters.  I already cook with lots of fruits and vegetables that begin with the letters A and B: apples, avocados, asparagus, bananas, broccoli, beets.  Since this is a challenge I really try to "challenge" myself with using foods that I either have never cooked or don't cook with often.  So I decided to go with a legume and try cooking black-eyed peas.

Before this challenge I'm not sure if I have ever eaten black-eyed peas before.  When I was reading New Year's books with the kids we discovered that in some cultures, and even in the Southern U.S., eating black-eyed peas on News Year's Day is thought to bring prosperity.  Well, we didn't eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day, but we can still wish for some prosperity, right?!!  These legumes are used world-wide in various dishes in various forms - mashed, fried, added to stews and they are even included in a sweet dessert dish in Vietnam.

I actually found this recipe in the USA Weekend insert in my local weekend paper.  I had saved it and planned on possibly making it one day. This challenge motivated me to make it sooner than later!  I have to admit I was a bit pessimistic and didn't think I'd like this.  I have never been a big bean eater and have only started to begin eating black beans and chick peas.....and liking them!  So I was a bit surprised to discover that I actually enjoyed this dish! My husband was a big fan and even the kids ate their servings. It was really easy to make and served over rice it made a nice hearty dish for a cold winter's night. 

Black-Eyed Pea Chili
recipe from USA Weekend, Dec. 28-30, 2012, courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Ingredients:
1 Tb. canola oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean ground turkey
1 large green bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeño pepper, finely diced
1 Tb. chili powder
1 (15-ounce) can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed
1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes, with juice
½ cup low-sodium chicken broth or water
¼ cup reduced-fat sour cream
¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds more.

Add the turkey and cook, breaking it up with the spoon, until it is no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in the bell pepper, jalapeño pepper and chili powder, and cook for 1 minute more.

Add the black-eyed peas, tomatoes and chicken broth or water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring a few times, until the ingredients soften and meld, 20 minutes. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro leaves.

Family Rating:  1 1/2 thumbs up.

Avocado and Watercress Salad

The end of the Eating the Alphabet Challenge is coming to an end soon!  This fun challenge is hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were U,V, or W and the challenge is to make a recipe that features a fruit, vegetable, or grain that begins with the month's letters.  This month was a toughy!  There aren't a lot of fruits and veggies that begin with the letters U,V, or W!  I decided to go with watercress.  I'm not sure that I've ever eaten it before (unless it was mixed in some fancy salad that I've eaten!) and I know that I've never cooked with it.  I found this salad recipe and decided to make it to serve with some home-made mac and cheese (recipe coming soon!) for dinner.  It was super easy to put together, though I was definitley surprised at how stemmy watercress is.  The dressing is definitely the key here and is super-tasty-hints of both sweet and tangy.  I was even more suprised when my son, the picky eater, tried his mandatory bite and said that he liked it!  So, we shared the plate of salad pictured below (although he didn't eat the avocado....score!  More for me!).  For lunch we had leftover mac and cheese and I made another plate of salad.  Without even seeing my plate my son requested some of the "green leafy food."  So, he got his own bowl of watercress salad and ate it all! I'm sure this salad would taste great with cut up pieces of apple and maybe even some chicken or shrimp to make it a meal. 

Avocado and Watercress Salad
recipe from Gourmet, May 2008

Ingredients:
1/4 cup rice vinegar (not seasoned)
1 tablespoon grated sweet onion such as Vidalia or Walla Walla (use large holes of a box grater)
1/4 cup finely grated peeled Gala apple (use small holes of box grater)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 cups watercress (thin stems and leaves only; from 1 large bunch)
1 firm-ripe avocado

Directions:
Stir together vinegar, onion, apple, soy sauce, and sugar until sugar has dissolved, then stir in oil.

Just before serving, toss watercress with enough dressing to coat. Quarter, pit, and peel avocado, then cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Gently toss with watercress.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up!

Turnip-Parsnip Gratin

It's time for October's Eating the Alphabet Challenge courtesy of Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were S &T.  The challenge is to make a dish featuring a fruit, vegetable, or grain that begins with the featured letter(s) of the month.  S &T was almost overwhelming with all of the choices available.  Spinach, tomatoes, squash, strawberries, swiss chard.....At first I thought about using tomatillos.  I had never cooked with them before and I really try to "challenge" myself with this challenge.  I didn't end up using them in my Challenge recipe but I did use them in fish tacos I made (see upcoming post).  Eventually I decided on turnips. I've eaten turnips a couple of times but the kids had not.  This recipe also let me sneak in another new veggie for the kids, parsnips. Plus, it gave me a chance to make this recipe which has been sitting in my "to try" recipe for a couple of years.  I posted the original recipe, which yields 8 servings, but I ended up halving it, knowing the kids probably wouldn't be eating it. This was definitely a bit time consuming.  And unfortunately, after all was said and done, I just wasn't a fan.  I wanted to be, but I think it needed more salt/flavor. The kids obligingly took their one mandatory bite and didn't want anymore.  The only one who liked this was my husband.  I'm always happy to try cooking new foods and recipes even if don't end up enjoying them as much as I thought. 

Turnip-Parsnip Gratin
recipe from Cooking Light, November 2009

Ingredients:
3 3/4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled turnip
3 3/4 cups (1/8-inch-thick) slices peeled parsnip
6 cups water
Cooking spray
1 cup whole milk
1/3 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese (I used Gouda, which was also recommended)
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a large saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 7 minutes or until almost tender. Drain; let stand 5 minutes. Arrange about 1/2 cup vegetable mixture into each of 8 (5 1/2-inch) round gratin dishes coated with cooking spray.

3. Combine milk, broth, flour, salt, and pepper in a saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a simmer. Cook 4 minutes, stirring constantly with a whisk until thick. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Spoon about 3 tablespoons sauce over each serving.

4. Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add panko; toast 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture evenly over cheese mixture. Place dishes on a baking sheet. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown on top. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Family Rating: So-so.

Plantain Corn Muffins

Happy Birthday  to me!  Yes, today I'm 33 years old.  My family and I have spent a nice mini-vacation away visiting Lancaster, PA.  This has been the first time my husband has been able to take a day off since he started his new job back at the end of May.  While I thought that I'd post something sweet to eat in honor of the occasion I ended up posting this muffin recipe because I'm also linking this recipe up to the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  I needed to make some more muffins for the week and I thought, why not try something new.  I've cooked with plantains a couple of times now, so they're not totally unfamiliar to me or the family.  The kids like them, probably because they taste similar to a banana.  I have to admit that the so-so rating of the recipe was probably my own fault.  I looked for the ripest plantains that the grocery store had.  However, I forgot how thick the skin of the plantain is and when I opened up the plantain, it wasn't nearly as soft as I hoped it would be.  I tried mashing it, but it was still hard and pretty chunky when it went in the batter.  Unfortunately, the kids (and I!) didn't enjoy plantain chunks in our muffins.  I think we all would have preferred these if they were smoother and less chunky.

Plantain Corn Muffins
recipe from allrecipes.com by Pixelsicle

Yield: 15 muffins

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup mashed, ripe plantains
2 large eggs
1/3 cup canola oil
3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:
1.Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 15 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

2.Stir the flour, sugar, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. Whisk the milk, plantains, eggs, oil, and butter together in a separate bowl. Mix the flour mixture into the milk mixture until just combined; do not over mix. Allow the mixture sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes. Pour into prepared muffin cups to about 2/3 full.

3.Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, 15 to 18 minutes.

Family Rating: So-so.

Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa

I can't believe September is half over!  The time just keeps flying by.  The 15th means that it's time for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were P, Q, or R and the challenge is to make a recipe using a fruit, vegetable, or grain that begins with that letter.  I have already made a lot of recipes with peaches, plus, pineapple, etc.  That seemed too easy for me to do.  Since I've really been "challenging" myself during these challenges I decided to make a recipe using quinoa (pronounced keen-wah).  I think I've only tried this grain once before, when someone at supper club made a recipe with it.  I don't remember disliking it, I just was never really inspired to try cooking with it myself.....until this challenge. I have to say that this recipe is super quick!  I was somehow able to make this and the shrimp dish that I served it with in about 20 minutes or so. My daughter started religious education this year and from 4:30-6 every Monday is in class.  I didn't realize the time was getting so late and I had to get ready to pick her up (especially on the first day!) but I didn't want to start cooking when we got home.  I was somehow successful in getting both dishes completed before I left to get her!   At first my daughter was into the quinoa.  She thought it reminded her of couscous.  But then she started not liking it.  I had made a special dessert to celebrate my son's first day of preschool and I'm not sure if it was the lure of the dessert, but I was able to get him to eat about 3 big bites of this.  After making this, I can't say that I'm a quinoa lover, but this dish was super easy and something new for us!

Cheesy Zucchini Quinoa
recipe from Closet Cooking

Yield: makes 4 servings


Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, well rinsed
1 3/4 cups vegetable broth or water
1 medium zucchini, grated
1 cup cheddar, shredded
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1.Bring the quinoa and broth to a boil over medium heat, reduce the heat and simmer covered until the broth has been absorbed and the quinoa is tender,about 15-20 minutes.

2.Remove from heat am mix in the zucchini, cheese, salt and pepper.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms

It's time again for the Eating The Alphabet Challenge, hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  This month's letters were M, N, & or O.  There were just so many veggie, fruit, and grain options to choose from for this month's challenge that it was hard to choose!  I finally decided on stuffed mushrooms.  I love mushrooms in all forms but unfortunately my kids really dislike them.  Although I like stuffed mushrooms I rarely get a chance to eat them.  And I've never made them until now!  Knowing the kids wouldn't eat these I ended up making them as an afternoon snack for myself.  They were surprisingly easy to make.  I had always assumed that they took a lot of work to prepare, one of the reasons why I never made them.  This recipe that I found did not use bread crumbs.  I think that the stuffed mushrooms that I've had and enjoyed in the past used them, so these weren't totally satisfying.  But now that I know how easy stuffed mushrooms can be to make I'll definitely be trying out new variations in the future.

Mouth-Watering Stuffed Mushrooms
recipe from allrecipes.com by Angie Gorkoff

Ingredients:
12 whole fresh mushrooms
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Clean mushrooms with a damp paper towel. Carefully break off stems. Chop stems extremely fine, discarding tough end of stems.

2.Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and chopped mushroom stems to the skillet. Fry until any moisture has disappeared, taking care not to burn garlic. Set aside to cool.

3.When garlic and mushroom mixture is no longer hot, stir in cream cheese, Parmesan cheese, black pepper, onion powder and cayenne pepper. Mixture should be very thick. Using a little spoon, fill each mushroom cap with a generous amount of stuffing. Arrange the mushroom caps on prepared cookie sheet.

4.Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the mushrooms are piping hot and liquid starts to form under caps.

Mommy & Daddy rating: So-so.  

Kiwi Breakfast Cake

It's that time again for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic.  The goal of the challenge is to make a recipe that features a fruit, vegetable, grain, or legume that begins with one of the month's featured letters.  I enjoy participating in this challenge because I try to cook with ingredients that I don't normally cook a lot.  This month's letters were K and L.  A couple of months ago when I was weeding out my ripped out of magazines recipe collection, I put this recipe aside specifically with this challenge in mind.  I recently started buying kiwis since I discovered that my kids like them.  I don't think that before this recipe I had ever cooked with them though.  The recipe was easy enough.  Although I'm not sure if I did step number one correctly because my milk didn't curdle as directed.  As you can tell from my picture below, the kiwi is not really visible and doesn't look anything like the picture featured here.  My daughter renamed this cake "Kiwi Surprise" since we didn't know where the kiwi was.  After finding the recipe online at the Rachael Ray site I found the tip that says to cut the kiwi extra-thin (about an 1/8 inch thick) or else the kiwi will sink into the batter (which I assume is what happened to mine!).  I thought that the kiwi was already thin when I cooked it and didn't find the kiwi flavor standing out.  It tasted more like a cinnamon cake with a few kiwi slices. 

Kiwi Breakfast Cake
recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
2 kiwis
1 cup milk, at room temp
2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup sugar
3 eggs

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees . Slice 1/3 inch off ends of kiwis and press pulp from ends into fine-mesh sieve set over bowl of milk to extract juice; set aside for 10 minutes to curdle.

2.Meanwhile, peel kiwis and slice crosswise very thinly. In bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Using mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. With mixer on low speed, alternately incorporate dry and milk mixtures in 3 parts.

3.Pour batter into buttered 10-inch cast-iron skillet and arrange kiwi slices on top. Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.
 

Guava Cheese Turnovers

I'm once again participating in Brenda from Meal Planning Magic's Eating the Alphabet Challenge.  This month's letters were G & or H.  I metioned in a previous post that I thought about using the Grapefruit Avocado Salad.  However, I'm really trying to challenge myself with this challenge and wanted to try a fruit/vegetable/legume that I hadn't tried or cooked with before.  So, I finally decided on guava.  Now, when I was looking for recipes, most recipes did not use fresh guava.  After a stroll through my local grocery store, I couldn't even find fresh guava!  Most recipes either called for guava nectar or guava paste.  After doing a precheck at the grocery store I saw that both were available.  So, I went with trying these Guave Cheese Turnovers, which uses guava paste.  In case you don't know, guava paste is found in a round tin, similar to a tuna fish can, but much larger!  The one that I bought was made by Goya and came in a 21 oz. can. (Now I need to figure out what to do with the rest of it, since I only needed 4 oz.!) These turnovers were easy enough that my 3 and 6 year old children helped me.  I set them both up on opposite ends of our large cutting board.  After giving them each a square of pastry puff, they put in the cream cheese, guava paste, and brushed the dough with the egg.  I helped my son fold and crimp the edges with a fork, but my daughter was doing hers just fine.  She also helped make the glaze.  After they were done cooking and we put the glaze on, the kids and I were all excited to try our guava creations.  They were surprisingly good!  My son gobbled his all up.  My daugher liked the dough with glaze, but wasn't a big fan of the guava/cream cheese filling.  These were different, with the guava paste giving them a kind of tart taste which complemented the cream cheese.  These aren't something that I'd make a lot but I'm glad that I was able to try guava (really guava paste!) and make something new!

Guava Cheese Turnovers
from foodnetwork.com - courtesy of Daisy Martinez from Viva Daisy!

Yield:  8 turnovers
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time:  20 minutes

Ingredients:
1 (1-pound) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cut into 8 equal pieces
8 (1 by 1-inch) squares guava paste (about 4 ounces)
1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon water
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Sprinkle the sugar on your work surface to prevent the dough from sticking. Roll out each sheet of puff pastry to an 8 by 8-inch square. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut each sheet into 4 squares.

Make the turnovers: Set a pastry square in front of you with 1 of the corners pointing toward you. Place 1 piece of cream cheese diagonally over the center of the bottom of the square. Top with a piece of guava paste. Brush the edges of the square with beaten egg. Fold the upper half of the square over the filling to make a neat triangle. Crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with the remaining turnovers, placing them on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet as you go.

Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown and puffy.

While the turnovers are baking, mix the confectioners' sugar with the milk and vanilla, stirring to dissolve any lumps. Set aside.

Cool the turnovers on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes, then drizzle the glaze over them. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Family Rating:  1 thumb up.

Orange-Balsamic Caramelized Fennel

I'm participating again in this month's Eating the Alphabet Challenge.  This month we had to make a dish using fruit, vegetables, or grains using the letters E or F.  I'm really trying to "challenge" myself with this challenge by cooking with ingredients that I don't normally use.  I do not like fennel seeds, although I can eat them in sausage.  I may have eaten fennel before but know that I personally have never cooked it before making this.  I only bought one fennel bulb and ended up quarterting the recipe.  For convenience purposes though I posted the original recipe portions, although the original recipe called for fennel seeds (yuck!).  I'm proud of myself for cooking outside my normal veggies.  However, no one was a big fan of this dish.  It definitely had that licorice taste.  When I told the kids that fennel tasted like licorice they were excited.  They tasted a bite and told me it didn't taste like licorice.  I told them it definitely did and then realized that to them, licorice is red twizzlers!  They've never had "real" licorice!  Needless to say, they weren't eating any more than the one bite.  If you're a fan of fennel though, this may be right up your alley.  I can now say that I don't like fennel....in any forms!

Orange-Balsamic Caramelized Fennel
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking Light, November 2008

Ingredients:
4 (1-pound) fennel bulbs with stalks, trimmed
Cooking spray
1 teaspoon sugar, divided
1 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
2 garlic cloves, sliced

 Preparation:
1. Cut each fennel bulb in half through root end; cut each half into quarters to form 32 total pieces. Chop 1 tablespoon fronds; reserve.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Place 8 fennel pieces in a single layer in pan; sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Cook 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove fennel from pan; recoat pan with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining fennel and sugar.

3. Return fennel to pan. Stir in broth and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 38 minutes or until fennel is crisp-tender and liquid is almost evaporated, turning occasionally. Top with reserved fennel fronds.

Family Rating:  So-so.

Roasted Cauliflower Risotto

I am super excited to be involved in another cooking challenge (I love a good challenge!) called Eating the Alphabet.  It's hosted by Brenda at Meal Planning Magic. Each month we're supposed to prepare a dish using fruits or vegetables from the selected letters.  Unfortunately, I found her wonderful blog and challenge after the first month had already started.  So, I missed letters A/B.  This month the challenge was to prepare a dish with a fruit or vegetable beginning with the letters C & or D.  Due to the short amount of time I had to find and prepare a recipe I went with only one letter, the letter C and I used cauliflower.  Although I like cauliflower I have to admit I have rarely, if ever cooked with it, so I thought it would be a good vegetable to use.  I'm really trying to challenge myself with this challenge and try using fruits and vegetables that I dont' normally cook with. 

I have made risotto a number of times.  I've cooked the traditional risotto which requires you to pour in broth a little at a time, constantly stirring.  A little while back I tried using the slow cooker to make risotto.  This recipe that I found uses the Dutch Oven.  After adding the liquid to the rice you cook it in the oven.  If you want the "bite" from the rice, cooking the traditional way is definitely the way to go.  However, if you want something with little hands-on time, cooking in the Dutch Oven or slow cooker is an easy way to make risotto. 

As for this dish, I liked the taste of the roasted cauliflower (heck, I like any vegetable roasted!).  The almonds gave the dish a nice crunch and added a little color.  I think the best part was that my son ate all of his dinner!  He does love rice, but he even ate all of his cauliflower!  That spells winner right there!  The dish wasn't amazing, I definitely have to make it again.  But because it was pretty quick and easy and everyone ate it, I have to give it 1 1/2 thumbs up!

Roasted Cauliflower Risotto
Food Network Magazine, March 2011

Total time: 40 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

Yield:  4 servings

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, florets cut into 1/2-inch pieces, stems chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups short-grain Italian rice (such as arborio or vialone nano)
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
4 ounces Italian fontina cheese, grated (1 1/2 cups)
1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

Directions:
Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 475 degrees F. Toss the cauliflower florets with 1 tablespoon olive oil on a baking sheet. Spread in a single layer and season with salt and pepper. Roast on the upper oven rack, 5 minutes. Add the almonds and roast until the cauliflower is tender, about 15 more minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add the onion and cauliflower stems and cook, stirring, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the rice and garlic and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the broth, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt; cover and bring to a boil. Transfer the pot to the lower oven rack and bake until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes.

Remove the rice from the oven and add the butter, fontina and parsley, stirring vigorously until the risotto is creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among bowls and top with the roasted cauliflower and almonds.

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