Category Archives: Recipes

So, you may think that I haven’t been keeping up with the weekly recipes…but I have.  Unfortunately, I have not had the time to post them and several have been done for the Junior League and will be posted after they hit the cookbook blog…so stay tuned for more :O).  I found this recipe in Cooking Light’s Fresh Food Fast Cookbook.  This cookbook is full of delicious recipes that I can’t wait to try out, and most of the ingredients coming straight from the Farmers Market.  Yum Yum!  To compliment this pizza Andy barbecued some chicken.  Had I thought of it sooner, I would have chopped the grilled chicken and tossed it on.  Something to remember for next time.

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

• Pizza dough
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 3 cups of roasted vegetables
• 1 cup preshredded cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated

Prepare pizza dough as instructed.  Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Place pizza crust on rack in oven while preheating, and heat 5 minutes.

Remove crust from oven; place on an ungreased baking sheet.  Spread pesto evenly over crust.  Top with roasted vegetables; sprinkle evenly with cheeses.  Bake at 500 for 7 minutes or until cheese melts.

Roasted Vegetables

• Vegetables of choice: tomato, onion, zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, asparagus, etc.
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.  Combine all ingredients except for basil, toss well.  Place on a large rimmed baking sheet.  Bake at 500 degrees for 18 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, stirring after 12 minutes.  Add basil to roasted vegetables, toss gently.

I recently picked up the Williams-Sonoma Cooking from the Farmers Market cookbook and just happened to have all of the ingredients on hand for this recipe…so of course I had to give it a try…  :O)  Jenni, Andy and myself were the testers and although we all agreed it was very good, the suggestions for improvement were: from Jenni, “when I think of acorn squash I think of butter…it needs butter”, Andy says, “it needs something to give it a little more kick…maybe bacon” and I thought that it just needed some salt.  I would make this again, but maybe add a little more sausage and a little salt.

Acorn Squash and Chorizo Tart

• Pastry dough, I used Pillsbury Crescent dough and shaped it rectangle instead of round
• 1/2 pound acorn squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• 2 Tbl olive oil
• Salt
• 1/4 pound Spanish-style chorizo, diced
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 1 large egg yolk

Position a rack in the bottom third of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Put the dough on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate.

Put the squash on a baking sheet, drizzle with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil, and toss to coat.  Spread in an even layer, season with salt, and roast until almost tender, about 10 minutes.  Let cool.

In a frying pan over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil.  Add the chorizo and saute until lightly browned, about 2 minutes  Transfer to paper towels.  Pour off all but 1 1/2 Tbsp of the fat and return the pan to medium-high heat.  Add the onion and saute until tender, about 5 minutes.  Season with salt, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute.  Let cool.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Spread evenly with the onion mixture, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border.  Evenly distribute the squash and chorizo and sprinkle with the cheese.  Fold the edge up and over the filling, forming loose pleats.  Lightly beat the egg yolk with 1 tsp water and brush the border.

Bake until the crust is browned, about 30 minutes.  If it begins to brown to quickly, loosely cover the top with foil.  Cut and serve.

This is Hunter Gaylord, isn’t he beautiful.  He was born the first weekend in November to our friends Blake and Haven.  Right around the time he was about 3  weeks old, poor Haven had to have an emergency appendectomy…so along with many of our other friends…we all scheduled with Blake to bring over dinner.

On my night I brought over this Tortellini Florentine Soup, a large Salad with pan grilled chicken and homemade Caesar dressing, a loaf of Cuban bread with whipped honey butter, and a chocolate cake.  They both loved the soup, so here’s the recipe…maybe you will too.

Tortellini Florentine Soup

• 1 9-ounce package refrigerated 3-cheese tortellini
• 2 14-ounce cans reduced sodium chicken broth
• 1 10-ounce container refrigerated light Alfredo pasta sauce
• 2 cups shredded deli-roasted chicken
• 1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomato strips, drained
• 1/2 of a 5 ounce package fresh baby spinach
• shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

In a 4-quart dutch oven cook tortellini  according to package directions, drain and set aside.

In the same dutch oven, combine broth and pasta sauce.  Stir in chicken and dried tomatoes.  Bring just to boiling; reduce heat.  Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Stir in cooked tortellini and spinach.  Cook for 1 to 2 minutes or just until tortellini is heated through and spinach is wilted.  If desired top each serving with Parmesan cheese.

Every year the parents at Berkeley host a Cookie Extravaganza for the teachers and staff.  It is a way for us to come together and say “Thank you”.  So tomorrow morning in the car line we will pull up along with dozens of other parents to drop off our wonderful homemade cookies (all 6 dozen of them) which will then be transported to the Aye Arboretum.  We hope that they will enjoy them….

Oatmeal Scotchies

• 1 cup unsalted butter chopped
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups rolled oats (I use Quaker Old Fashioned, do not use instant)
• 1 package of butterscotch chips

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees.

In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy.  Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Beat in eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined.

In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Gradually mix into butter mixture with wooden spoon or large rubber spatula until just combined.  Stir in oats and butterscotch chips.

Drop the dough by heaped tablespoons onto ungreased baking sheet, leaving at least a 2 inch gap between each mound.  Place one baking sheet at a time onto center rack of preheated 375 degree oven.  For softer chewy cookies; bake until very lightly browned, about 7 to 8 minutes.  For crisper cookies; bake until golden brown, about 9-10 minutes.  Cool on a baking sheet for at least two minutes before transferring to a place to finish cooling. 

(I found that in my oven the cookies were the best at around 8 1/2 minutes. )

Makes about 48 cookies.

To make bar Cookies:  grease a 10×15 inch jelly roll pan.  Spread cookie dough in prepared pan.  Bake until light golden brown, about 18-22 minutes.  Cool completely in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

Store cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.  Cookies freeze well.

These are a great make ahead snack item or a gift idea.

Sugar and Spice Pecans

• 1 cup of sugar
• 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice
• 2 teaspoons of grated orange rind
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 egg whites
• 1/4 cup of butter, melted
• 4 cups of pecan halves

Stir together the first 4 ingredients.

Beat egg whites at high-speed with an electic mixer until foamy.  Gradually add sugar mixture, beating at high-speed until soft peaks form.  Fold in Melted butter and pecan halves.  Spread coated nuts in a single layer on a large jelly-roll pan lines with nonstick aluminum foil or parchment paper.

Bake at 250 degrees for 45 minutes or until nuts are toasted, stirring every 15 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool completely on pan.  Remove from pan.  Store in an airtight container up to 2 weeks.

This has to be one of the easiest recipes ever…and it is so tasty.  I came across these yummy crunch munches at a lunch in Andy’s office.  Julie had brought them in and I think I must have had 5 before I even got to the lunch, so after storming into her office and begging for the recipe she kindly laughed and gave it to me.  Later, she emailed Andy the actual recipe…but the funny thing is… I had already made a batch.  Thanks Julie!!!

Toffee Crunch Bars

• 1 package of toffee pieces
• 2 sleeves of Ritz Crackers
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Crush the two sleeves of crackers.  In a bowl mix together toffee pieces, crushed crackers, and condensed milk.  Heavily grease a 9×13 pan or baking dish with Crisco or line with parchment paper.  Depending on your oven bake for 20-30 minutes, or until slightly browned.  Allow the dessert to cool completely before cutting.  Note – they can be a little sticky, when presenting on a plate you might find it easier to layer with the parchment paper.