Sesame Noodle Salad

Last, I was looking for a carby side dish for the party.  I thought about a potato salad with a vinegarette type dressing but finally decided to do a pasta type dish.  I liked the idea of a Sesame Noodle Salad because it can be served either warm or cold.  It was super easy to make and really tasty!  This side dish had the least amount of leftovers!  My kids were big fans of this dish.  I would definitely make this dish again.

Sesame Noodles
Recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com by jkmom

Ingredients:
1 (16 ounce) package angel hair pasta
1/2 cup sesame oil
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon sesame seeds, or more if desired
1 green onion, chopped
1/2  red bell pepper, diced

Directions:
1.Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the angel hair pasta, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, 4 to 5 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink.

2.Whisk together the sesame oil, soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, and sugar in a large bowl. Toss the pasta in the dressing, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, green onion, and bell pepper. Serve warm, or cover and refrigerate for a cold salad.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Orzo Salad with Artichokes,Tomatoes, Chickpeas, Feta, and Lemon Basil Dressing

I was looking for a pasta side dish to serve at our Father's Day dinner along with the Sausage & Pepper Wedges, potato salad, corn-on-the cob and garden salad.  I found this recipe and thought it was different with the chickpeas and lemon basil dressing.  It seemed like a light salad side dish and was different than most pasta salad recipes I've seen.  I have two small basil plants that my mother gave me, growing in a container on my deck.  Unfortunately, I assumed that I'd have enough basil leaves to make the dressing for this and didn't.  So, as seen in the pic below, it was lacking a little in the basil flavor!  I opted to serve this dish room temperature.  Orzo is a quick cooking pasta so this dish was fast and easy to prepare.  Overall, it wasn't bad.  It was definitely a light side dish and the flavors were a nice change from the mayo or Italian dressing based macaroni salads that I'm used to. 

Orzo Salad with Artichokes,Tomatoes, Chickpeas, Feta, and Lemon Basil Dressing
recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups orzo
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup chopped artichoke hearts
1 cup chopped tomatoes
1 cup feta cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste

For the Lemon Basil Dressing:
3/4 cup basil leaves, packed
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Pour the broth into a heavy large saucepan. Cover the pan and bring the broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in the orzo. Cook until the orzo is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Drain the orzo through a strainer and rinse with cold water. Drain completely and transfer the orzo to a large bowl.

2. Add the chickpeas, artichokes, tomatoes, and feta cheese to the orzo. Stir until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

3. To make the dressing: in a blender or food processor, blend the basil, garlic, salt, and lemon juice until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil. Blend until combined.

4. Pour dressing over orzo salad and stir until well combined. Serve salad immediately or chilled.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Egg Potato Salad

I don't know why I keep trying different potato salads.  I should just ask my mom for the recipe that she uses since I'm such a big fan of hers.  She's been making it ever since I can remember and it always tastes as good too! I love trying out new recipes though and saw this egg based one and had to try it.  I love hard-boiled eggs in my potato salad.  Of course, earlier in the day before I served this at our Father's Day dinner I tried a potato salad with a bacon vinegarette type dressing on it that was amazing!  So, between my mom's potato salad and the non-mayo bacon vinegarette based one that I had earlier in the day, this one really didn't have a chance.  I made this early in the morning so it could chill in the fridge and the flavors could meld while went out to a barbecue.  It was slightly tangy from the vinegar and pickle juice.  It wasn't bad.  I think I'm just used to the taste of my mom's. 

Egg Potato Salad
slightly adapted from The Cutting Edge of Ordinary

Ingredients:
6 medium sized russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
½ cup mayonnaise
1/3  cup sour cream
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
sprigs of thyme
handful of chives
salt
3-4 shakes of Penzys Salt-Free Mural of Flavor Seasoning
1/4  cup pickle juice
1-tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Place a pot of water on stove on high.  Once boiling add potato pieces and boil for approximately 12 minutes, until fork-tender.  Drain and place into a large bowl.

In a medium size bowl mix the mayo, sour cream, mustard, thyme, chives, pepper, and Penzys Mural of Flavor Seasoning.

Stir gently into warm potatoes, add the pickle juice and vinegar and stir gently again. Refrigerate until cold.

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

Pineapple Bread Pudding

For Easter we went to my parent's house and my mom made pineapple bread pudding as one of the sides.  It was so different and tasty!  We recently had our family over to celebrate my daughter's 6th birthday.  My husband cooked a turkey and I wanted to make the pineapple bread pudding as one of the sides.  Somehow I mixed up the website that my mom had found her recipe at (Cuisine At Home) and I found and made this version from Taste of Home.  This was a little different than the one that she made - hers used heavy cream, a stick of butter, and fresh pineapple.  Mine was a little "healthier" if you can call it that!  Regardless, it was delicious.  It's a nice "sweet" side dish with some savory elements.  Surprisingly, the kids weren't big fans of this, which I thought they would be because they love pineapple.  But, my daughter has an issue with warmed fruit.  I'm still giving it 2 thumbs up because all the adults enjoyed it!

Pineapple Bread Pudding
recipe slightly adapted from Taste of Home

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Yield:  8-10 servings

Ingredients:
10 slices white bread
3/4 cup butter, melted
5 eggs
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, drained
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:
Place bread on a baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 4 minutes; turn over and bake 4 minutes longer or until very light brown. Cut toasted bread into 1-in. cubes. Toss with melted butter; set aside.

In a bowl, beat eggs until thick and lemon-colored. Add the pineapple, sugar and vanilla; mix well. Fold in bread cubes.

Pour into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and bake at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. 

Family Rating:  2 thumbs up.

Cabbage Cakes

I like cabbage but don't know many ways to cook with it besides coleslaw and noodles with cabbage and onions(a favorite of mine!).  I ended up finding this recipe on allrecipes and made it as a side dish to go with the slow cooker cranberry chicken that I posted yesterday.  These were easy to make.  I served them with some plain yogurt on top, although I ended up preferring them plain. Without the sugar of a normal pancake batter these were definitely savory.  I felt they lacked a little in flavor and were missing something, but wasn't sure what. The kids weren't big fans of these.  I ended up eating some leftover for breakfast the next morning.  

 Cabbage Cakes
allrecipes.com - by MRSPINK

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small head cabbage, cored and sliced thin
1 onion, thinly sliced
black pepper to taste
1 1/3 cups plain yogurt
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 cups flour
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
butter (optional)

Directions:
1.Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the cabbage and onion; cook and stir until the vegetables are soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Season with pepper, and set pan aside to cool.

2.Whisk together the yogurt, milk, vegetable oil, and eggs in a bowl until evenly blended; set aside. Stir together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the well, then stir until well combined. Fold the cooled cabbage and onions into the pancake batter.

3.Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and butter or oil if necessary. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Family Rating: So-so.

The Weekend Chef: Spanakopita

My husband made two side dishes for our Greek themed Supper Club dinner.  He made a Greek orzo salad and then he made this spanakopita.  I think I've had spanakopita only in small triangle puff pastry form, passed around as an hors d'oeuvres at weddings and such.  We don't go out for Greek all that often and when we do, we've never ordered spanakopita.  Well, I personally loved this dish!  The spinach had such great flavor from the cheeses, onion, and garlic.  My husband said that it was pretty easy to make.  The hardest for him was defrosting the spinach (we used two boxes of frozen) and squeezing all of the excess water out, which took close to ten minutes.  My son loved the phyllo and ate his serving all up! We have left over phyllo dough and I've already put in a request for The Weekend Chef to make this again!

Spanakopita
recipe adapted from allrecipes.com - by SILVERWOLF

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 boxes of frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and excess water wrung out
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
8 sheets phyllo dough
1/4 cup olive oil

Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly oil a 9x9 inch square baking pan.

2.Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Saute onion, green onions and garlic, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in spinach and parsley, and continue to saute until spinach is limp, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

3.In a medium bowl, mix together eggs, ricotta, and feta. Stir in spinach mixture. Lay 1 sheet of phyllo dough in prepared baking pan, and brush lightly with olive oil. Lay another sheet of phyllo dough on top, brush with olive oil, and repeat process with two more sheets of phyllo. The sheets will overlap the pan. Spread spinach and cheese mixture into pan and fold overhanging dough over filling. Brush with oil, then layer remaining 4 sheets of phyllo dough, brushing each with oil. Tuck overhanging dough into pan to seal filling.

4.Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Cut into squares and serve while hot.
 
Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Potato and Blue Cheese Gratin

Today is my husband's birthday.  My birthday is in September.  This year we decided on a joint birthday present, a Canon T2i, and a joint celebratory dinner, Chef Anita Lo's Annisa, down in NYC.  These were both done in October, since it's the half-way point of both of our birthdays.  His request was that the kids help make his birthday dinner.  Well, they partially helped with the dessert, which we'll get to later.  But by dinner time they were off playing, and we were on our own to cook.  He requested steak and potatoes.  He was in charge of cooking the meat and I cooked the potatoes.  I have made the following recipe several times.  It is so simple yet so delicious!  We only put the blue cheese on half the potatoes since my daughter isn't a fan of blue cheese.  Just an FYI, these don't taste the same the next day, so if you want to have a little more, go for it!

Potato and Blue Cheese Gratin
Gourmet, December 2005

Tender, rich, and browned on top, this easy potato gratin gets loads of flavor from a very minimal amount of blue cheese that is added at the last minute.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 lb medium yellow-fleshed potatoes
1 cup heavy cream
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/3 cup crumbled blue cheese (1 oz)

Preparation:
Put oven rack in upper third of oven and preheat oven to 425°F.

Peel potatoes and slice 1/8 inch thick, then toss with cream, garlic, salt, and pepper in skillet. Cover with foil and roast until potatoes are very tender, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and preheat broiler. Remove foil and sprinkle potatoes with cheese. Broil until top is browned, 2 to 3 minutes.

Family Rating: two thumbs up!  The kids loved these!