1 cup wheat berries (soaked overnight and drained)
3 cups water
sea salt
1 large (2 pound) acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
nonstick cooking spray
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups green leaf lettuce, cleaned and dried
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Go-To Vinaigrette
¼ cup pecans, toasted
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup dried cranberries

Combine wheat berries and water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.

While wheat berries are cooking, preheat oven to 400. Place squash halves flesh side down in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 12 minutes (if your microwave doesn’t have a rotating dish, rotate the plate every 2 minutes). Remove squash (be careful of steam) to a cutting board and let cool flesh side up until cool enough to handle (1-2 minutes). Carefully cut into 1/2-inch wedges and peel off skin. Microwave the butter and syrup in a bowl for 30 seconds and stir to mix.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the squash wedges down, brush with maple glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully flip wedges over and bake another 5-6 minutes.

While squash is cooking, mix together lettuce, scallions and drained wheat berries and toss with vinaigrette. Divide evenly onto four plates. Top with squash wedges, pecans, crumbled blue cheese, cranberries and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4

2 cups roasted squash, mashed to a puree (you could also use canned pumpkin)
2 teaspoons canola oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
Nonstick cooking spray
2 cups prepared red enchilada sauce
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas
3 cups shredded chicken or pork
1 recipe Sauteed Swiss Chard (or other leftover greens)
5 ounces monterey jack cheese, (1 cup, shredded)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Mix squash with canola oil, garlic and cumin.

Spread 1/2 cup sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with 4 tortillas, tearing as needed to fill in any gaps. Top with 1 cup squash, half the pork and chard, 3/4 cup sauce and 1/3 cup cheese. Top with 4 more tortillas, remaining 1 cup squash, remaining pork, 1/2 cup sauce and 1/3 cup cheese. Top with remaining 4 tortillas, sauce and cheese.

Cover and bake at 400 F for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes, or until hot and tortillas are golden brown around the edges. Let stand 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Serve with sour cream and salsa, if you like.

Serves 6-8

½ cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chile paste
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
6 cups savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
sea salt
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked brown rice, break up any chunks
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups cooked shrimp or shredded meat
4 cups cooked bok choy, greens or mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas, (optional)
¼ cup cilantro, roughly torn

Whisk broth, water, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, chile paste and cornstarch together in small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large wok or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add cabbage and a pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes, until wilted and charred. Remove to a plate. Swirl in remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons oil and saute onion for 3 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add rice and stir-fry 2 minutes, until softened and separated. Push to one side of pan and pour in egg. Let egg set for 30 seconds and then chop coarsely with spatula.

Stir in meat, veggies, cabbage and peas and toss everything together to combine. Give sauce a stir to mix and pour into pan. Toss rice to coat. Cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Spoon onto serving dish or into bowls. Sprinkle cilantro over top and season to taste with additional soy sauce.

Serves 4

]]> http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/12/09/kitchen-sink-fried-rice/feed/ 0 http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/11/24/improv-cassoulet/ http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/11/24/improv-cassoulet/#comments Thu, 24 Nov 2011 05:56:41 +0000 Lia Huber http://nourishnetwork.com/?p=6786 There are so many things I love about cassoulet … one of them being its versatility. Be creative with your leftovers–beans, roasted meat, stale bread–and see what it becomes.

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
4 thick slices bacon, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 links italian sausage, cut diagonally into 4 pieces
4 cloves garlic, minced, divided
¼ cup dry white wine
2 cups low-sodium chicken, vegetable or turkey stock
14-ounce can tomato puree
4 cups leftover turkey, duck or dark-meat chicken, shredded
(2) 15-ounce cans white beans, drained
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups course bread crumbs
2 tablespoons parsley, minced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven and saute bacon and onion over medium heat for 12-15 minutes, until bacon is semi-crisp and onion is browned. Add sausages and 1/2 of the garlic and saute for 4 minutes, until slightly browned.

Add wine and scrape up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Add stock, tomato puree, turkey, beans, bay leaf and thyme. Taste and adjust seasoning accordingly. Bake in the oven uncovered for 30 minutes, adding additional stock  if necessary to keep moist.

Mix bread crumbs with remaining garlic, minced parsley, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. Toss with melted butter until moistened evenly and sprinkle on top of cassoulet. Bake for another 20 minutes. Push down breadcrumbs so they are slightly moistened and bake another 20 minutes, until top crisps.

Serves 8

2 ounces prosciutto
4 teaspoons Dijon mustard
4 slices whole grain sandwich bread
1 medium Anjou pear, halved, cored, and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 ounces creamy goat cheese
Cooking spray

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook prosciutto 8 minutes, turning occasionally, until crispy. Remove from pan and set aside on paper towel.
Spread mustard on one side of all 4 slices of bread. Spread goat cheese on 2 slices. Add a layer of pear and prosciutto on top of the goat cheese and top with the other slices of bread (mustard-side down). Press down lightly with your palm to seal sandwiches.

Lightly coat both sides of sandwiches with cooking spray.

Wipe out the skillet you used for the prosciutto and heat over medium heat. Toast sandwiches 4 to 5 minutes per side, pressing down with the spatula, until golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted.

Slice sandwiches in half and serve.

Serves 4

2 cups Celery Root, Potato and Apple Mash
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg
¼ cup scallions, chopped
1-½ ounce gruyere cheese, grated (or a hard, aged gouda)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Stir together potato mash, flour, egg, scallions and cheese until well mixed (should be the consistency of a stiff batter).

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Use a measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray to spoon a slightly heaping 1/4 cup potato mixture around the pan (allow space between them for air to circulate–you may have to cook in batches). Flatten gently with the back of the measuring cup.

Cook for 5-7 minutes, until bottom is crispy and browned when you peek, and then carefully flip each one. Continue to cook for 5-7 minutes on the second side. Remove from skillet and arrange on a platter or plates.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup onion, diced (roughly 1/3 of a large onion)
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups orange-fleshed sweet potato (also called garnet yams), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 pounds, or roughly 2 large sweet potatoes)
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
sea salt
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat peanut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Pour in 2 cups broth and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add remaining broth, tomato paste and pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy. Season with additional salt (amount will depend on how salty your peanut butter is … you should add enough so that the flavors “pop,” but it doesn’t taste overtly salty).

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6

1–½ pounds Italian chicken sausage links, (fully-cooked, like al fresco brand) cut into 36, 3/4-inch slices
1 pound red table grapes, (approx 72)
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
Equipment: 12 long metal skewers (if you use bamboo skewers, soak in cold water for 30 minutes before threading)

Preheat grill to medium high.

Thread one piece of sausage onto a skewer, followed by 3 grapes. Repeat once more and end with another piece of sausage. Repeat with the rest of the skewers.

Brush (or spray) the skewers with olive oil and sprinkle with pepper. Grill 4-5 minutes per side, until sausage is heated through and grapes are just starting to collapse.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1-1/2 pounds wild mushrooms (or cremini), cut into thick slices
2 teaspoons thyme, minced
¼ cup dry marsala
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add shallot. Cook for 5 minutes, until shallot is a deep golden brown. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms and thyme to pan and saute for 8-10 minutes, until mushrooms are golden brown.

Pour in marsala and scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Swirl in mascarpone, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4

1 large melon (any variety as long as it’s super fresh and ripe–the one pictured here is Gaia), peeled and seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (should have 6-8 cups)
1 lemon, juiced
coarse sea salt (my choice is Maldon)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Toss melon with lemon juice and spoon into bowls. Sprinkle sparingly with salt and cayenne.

Serves 4