Maybe my favorite this far...

Marina here...again :)  Barefoot Contessa's Roasted Tomato and Basil Soup is quite possibly my favorite recipe so far.  Form the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, this recipe was a huge success...twice!  It was so good I made it two weeks in a row.  The process started with roasting the tomatoes: 

I read some of the reviews online and roasted the garlic together with the tomatoes.  I don't know if it apparent from this picture, but my OCD-isms come through in my cooking for sure.

Next came the simmering part.  The first time I made this recipe, I didn't give myself quite enough time.  It takes 45 minutes to roast the tomatoes, then 40 minutes to simmer the soup. 

The next part was the best:  I got to use my birthday gift - a Kitched Aid immersion blender - to puree the soup to just the perfect texture.  This is my new favorite kitchen applicance!!  At this point - voila - the soup was ready.  I served it with a dollop of sour cream and some parmesan cheese. 

This soup is fabulous - fabulous!!!

Somethings on the side

Marina here: I've been slacking on reporting on Barefoot Contessa Recipes, so it's time to catch up.  This post is about somethings on the side: Mashed Butternut Squash and Zucchinni with Parmesan.  First the Butternut squash.  I've never been a huge vegetable eater.  So over the past few months, I've been on the hunt of vegetable side dishes.  I've already fallen in love with the mashed rutabegas, but thought two is better than one, right?  Well, the mashed butternut squash didn't quite match up to the begas. 

 They roasted beautifully and the house smelled fantastic when they were done.  I served them with tilapia.  But they were just a little too rich and sweet for my preference.  Both Greg and I really only had about three or four bites.  Also, I felt more like I was eating a dessert than a dinner side, which isn't a bad thing :) just not what I was going for.  So, unless I figure out if there's a better pairing for this side, I'm not sure I'll be making it again.  Although, I could make a small portion and have this be one of several sides...

Another side I got to try was Zucchini with Parmesan (Family Style cookbook).  Excellent.  Greg was also impressed with this dish.  The cheese was a great addition.  And the best part was that it was easy, quick, and all the ingredients were ones I had in my fridge.  Will be making this again and again.

Soup & Salad, part un and deux

Un= "one" in French.  To my taste, the best food in the world is chocolate.  The second best is pizza.  If it wouldn't have serious health consequences, I would be content to live on those two foods.  After that, the best food item would have to be salad.  Salads are remarkable.  They are healthy, delicious, fun, affordable, and even pretty.  I love that there are an endless amount of options and varieties of salads.  There are salads appropriate to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Salads  un and deux were from "Barefoot in Paris".  I served the "Warm Mushroom Salad with Prosciutto" with the "Lentil and Sausage" soup.  I have to say, I missed a sweet element to the salad.  In the mid nineties, lunch and dinner salads combining the sweet with the savory were popularized.  As soon I was out on my own and preparing salads, I followed the trend and haven't stopped since.  I love raspberries with spinach, apples with blue cheese, citrus with red onions and avocados, etc.  This salad contained proscuitto, sauteed mushrooms, parsley, sun dried tomatoes, and parmesan.  It was lovely... but I did miss some hint of sweet.  However, combining a fruit (whether dried or fresh) with sauteed mushrooms just didn't seem appropriate, so I suppose I would serve it the same way again.

The lentil sausage soup was good- albeit just slightly predicable?  It was comforting, hearty, and affordable. The parmesan on top is absolutely essential.

Duex: "two" in french.  The Rosemary white bean soup (which I neglected to photograph) was fantastic, and in contrast to the lentil soup, not at all predictable.  Rosemary's strong flavor I usually reserve for a rub on a steak or a fresh herb to flavor focaccia.  In the very simple and creamy white bean soup, the flavor of the herb was clear and beautiful.  All the soup required as a garnish was a simple drizzle of olive oil- a good quality spicy olive oil, if you have one on hand.  I used a Spanish olive oil and it seemed just right.  This soup was different, charming, and strikingly affordable to prepare: certainly company-worthy.  I also served it with a delicious salad, pictured below.  It was supposed to be a salad containing endive, pears, roquefort, and walnuts.  I stayed true to the recipe with the exception of the endive, which I chose to substitute for hearts of romaine, as my produce drawer was full of it.  The combination of the pears and creamy roquefort was totally delicious.  The vinaigrette used lemon as the acid in place of vinegar and it was just right.  This is my new favorite salad.

Totally behind, but still cooking...

Kristen here: I am now officially two soups, two salads, one gratin, and one crisp behind on my blogging venture. All have been cooked and photographed, but I have yet to write a single review.  On second thought, let's add to that one cheese danish as well.  But, I have a completely logical reason: E.B.White.  (As in the author.)  My Brady studied Charlotte's Web in his Kindergarten class.  At the culmination of this study, his class had a literature day party.  His Kindergarten teacher asked if I would be willing to make a farm cake for the children to enjoy as part of their celebration.  I jumped at the chance, and among other things, it turned out to be a great excuse to hang out with my friend Sarah (pictured, right).  On top of that, Mom popularity with the Kindergarten set is most readily achieved by arriving with pounds of sugar in the shape of something cute.  So, all of last week was devoted to hunting down the proper supplies to construct Wilbur, his buddies, and their residence.  Didn't Brady make a cute Templeton?  But, that ship has now sailed...more food blogging to come soon...

Refreshing Fruit Salad

Marina here: my dinner plans for making Asian Grilled Salmon got turned upside down when they ran out of salmon at Savemart (it was on sale for $4.99/lb).  So - instead, we had brinner (breakfast for dinner).  I tried to make ham and cheese omelettes, but we ended up with scrambled eggs with ham and cheese :)  And I made a modified version of Barefoot Contessa's french toast - very, very tasty!!  But the highlight was her Fruit Salad with Limoncello (Family Style book) for dessert!  Wow! 

I started by slicing up some strawberries, adding blueberries and raspberries (the recipe also calls for bananas, but Greg doesn't like bananas so I only added those to my plate).  Already this sounds fantastic, doesn't it?  I bet in the summer, when the strawberries are really in season and perfectly sweet - this will be even better! 

The yogurt sauce was just dreamy!  It turned out a little more runny than I expected or would have preferred, so maybe next time less...yogurt?  Not sure...  But the taste was wonderful and refreshing.  I love anything lemon too, so this recipe was sure to please. 

Notes - Trader Joe's has the best Lemon Curd and I found the Limoncello Liquer there also. 

Anyone that would love to serve a light and lovely fruit salad but hates the idea of serving yet another potluck-y jello fruit salad-type dish - this is a beautiful upgrade!

Terrific Tiramisu

Marina here: reporting on Barefoot Contessa's Tiramisu (Family Style cookbook).  My first time making this dessert - it turned out quite terrific!  It was especially impressive because Greg and my friend Nanette, both of who don't usually prefer tiramisu, actually liked this recipe! 

My favorite parts about the recipe: very easy to follow - no baking needed - can make it ahead of time.

A couple of notes: this dessert is very light and going forward, it'll be important for me to serve it after the right kind of dinner.  Also, it's not like a brownie or a cobbler - a universal dessert, I think - so I'll remember to be mindful of who I'm serving the desser to - though not overpowering, it does have quite a distinct flavor (rum and espresso).  The recipe calls for ladyfingers and not every store carries them - look at the Nugget or Safeway, they usually have them. 

Coming up this week: Asian Grilled Salmon with roasted carrots and parsnips, the Roasted Tomato and Basil soup, and the Fruit Salad with Lemoncello.  Can't wait!!!!

Dreamy Fluffy Delicious

Mom of four here: I have resolved for the sake of honoring God with my time to keep my posts ultra short from now on!  Marina is brilliantly talented at giving a more detailed run down of a recipe, so I will leave that to her.

So, here is to short & sweet:  The coconut cupcakes... I had more than one person who was a self professed coconut hater take one bite and fall in love.  One of the best and most decadent, creamy frostings I have had the pleasure of eating.  The cake: flavorful, moist, complex, perfect.  As a lighter summertime dessert, it would be wonderful to add toasted macadamia nuts to the cupcake batter and exchange the frosting for a dollop of lime curd.  End of story.

Chicken and more chicken

Marina here.  So chicken is my comfort zone.  Steak is scary.  Fish is scary.  Pork is scary.  And I love making dessert.  So it's no surprise I'm reporting on 2 chicken dishes:

Last night, I made BC's Tequila Lime Chicken (Family Style book).  Marinated the chicken overnight in tequila, lime juice, orange juice, and a jalapeno pepper.  Side tip: wear gloves when seeding and mincing the jalapeno - otherwise your eyes WILL burn when you take your contacts out :)  Great flavor, very different than I've ever prepared it before.  My problem is I don't think I paired it with the right sides.  I served it with baked sweet potatoes and a spinach salad with BC's lemon vinaigrette dressing (excellent and the easiest dressing to quickly whip up - and when I say "quickly" - I mean less than 3 minutes!!).  But we will definitely make this again and try different sides next time.  Maybe just serve it on the side of a huge margarita!!!

Tonight I made the Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers with Satay Dip from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.  LOVED IT!!!  Greg bbqd it to perfection.  The chicken - very moist and the lemon marinade - so refreshing!  The satay sauce was just right. 

A few "tweaks": we love Montreal Steak seasoning...on everything.  So we added a little of that and it added great flavor.  Also, the Satay dip turned out chunky and I wanted it creamy so after I finished cooking everything, I just threw it in the food processor for a quick minute - perfect texture, for my preference.  Lastly, I almost passed on this recipe because I didn't want to hunt down dark seasame oil (I thought I'd only find it at a specialty ethnic store).  Turns out Trader Joe's carries it.  Love that store!

Beautiful Barefoot Béarnaise!

Kristen here: Last nights meal was "Steak Béarnaise".  Delightful!  We had a lovely french bistro style dinner on the table in only about 40 minutes!  It could have gone even more quickly but I was simultaneously helping a  kid with his homework, holding my baby, teaching Erik how to drill the Kindergartener on his phonograms and chit chatting with our dear friend, Rob as he worked on a carving over our doorway.   The recipe was so simple and clear, that despite all of those things (and the fact that I can be so spacey), it still turned out very well.

This recipe comes from "Barefoot in Paris", Ina Garten's textbook on french cuisine.  Early last year, I tried my first recipe out of it, a Creme Brulee.  If the book could make Creme Brulee entirely possible, I figured it was worth deeper exploration.

The highlight of tonights meal was clearly the Bearnaise sauce. It was creamy and a fabulous compliment to two very nice steaks.  It was a sharp contrast to the typical American style steak sauces and toppings (think A-1, BBQ sauce, Montreal Steak Seasoning or a compound blue cheese butter).  While those things have their place in the world of red meat, they do tend to mask the flavor of the steaks.  This sauce allowed the flavor of the meat to shine through.  The sauce began with a combination of white wine (I chose a Sonoma Sau Blanc), champagne vinegar, minced shallots, sea salt, pepper, and chopped Tarragon.  A drier white would probably been a better choice- a buttery Chardonnay possibly?  Once those ingredients were reduced, they were set aside to cool, awaiting the addition of several egg yolks, and hot melted butter (a lot of it).  Then all that was left was a quick trip through the blender, and Voila!  Easy as pie (or steak).

I am not easily impressed.

Kristen here: I am a total food snob, I admit it! However, I was so thoroughly impressed by the brownie that my blog buddy dropped in my mail box this morning, that I had to stick a note up about it!  All 3 of you that are following this...read her post and try the brownies! They are to die for!  Possibly the best brownie I have ever eaten. Here's why: 1- Texture: They were perfectly fudgy without appearing or tasting under done (a common mistake for many well meaning brownie bakers).  2- Impeccable ingredients: The nuts were perfectly fresh (I have eaten several brownies with rancid nuts in them: nuts must be stored in the refrigerator- they are delicate and the oils in them turn rancid quickly!)  The chocolate had a very poignant, rich dark chocolate flavor- not overly sweet, waxy, or chemically.  Since chocolate is the star ingredient, it needs to be excellent quality.  Trader Joes does a good job with their chocolate, the quality is great and the price is quite reasonable.  Cheap chocolate can also result in a greasy baked good.  These were delightfully moist, but not at all greasy. 3- Butter!  Oil in brownies is inexcusable.  4- Coffee: nothing highlights the flavor of chocolate like a little espresso!
Marina, I whole heartedly concur: outrageously good.  My sincere commendations.

Outrageous Brownies! Outrageously good!

Marina here.

Last night I made BC's Outrageous Brownies recipe from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.  They were outrageosly good!  No matter what I've done in the past, the best brownies were always the ones from the Hershey brownie bagged mix.  Hershey - you've been beaten by BC!

Quick notes from my experience, as I need to get ready for work:

• Used and loved the Trader Joe's semisweet choc. chips and used their dark chocolate instead of the unsweetened chocolate - loved it!  

• Chopped up the butter and the dark chocolate to assist the melting process.
• Melting it all together took a little longer than expected...but came out beautifully smooth after about 7 or 8 minutes

• I didn't use a large enough "large bowl" and ended up having to transfer the whole mixture to a much, much larger bowl :)  

• I suspect I may have over-baked the brownies, even though the recipe specifically warned not to overbake - they may have been even more moist if I took them out while the toothpick was still just a little bit from clean.

Overall, very pleased with the brownies.  Not as fast as throwing everything together from a bag, but worth the extra effort.