Cookin' Up a Storm

Friday night we had some new friends over for dinner. We thought we should go all out for them. (We have to impress, right?) We came up with a fantastic menu that really may have been one of our most impressive meals we've ever made--and that's saying a lot, if I may say so myself. For appetizers we had Oven-Dried Tomato on Toast Rounds and Pretzel Goat Cheese Bites. Our main course consisted of Sweet Potato Ravioli with Lemon-Sage Brown Butter over sauteed mixed greens. We ended the night by completely indulging in a Turtle Cheesecake. The food and company couldn't have been better.


Oven-Dried Tomato on Toast Rounds (Cooking Light, October 2006)

This recipe takes a long time to prepare. It's very hands-off, but the tomatoes are supposed to bake for 4 hours. We only had 3 hours, and they still turned out magnificently. I would say to just keep the tomatoes in the oven as long as you can but don't stress if can't bake them for the whole time. We used homemade bread that we then broiled until crisp with a touch of olive oil, but store-bought bread would work just fine. Also, we used dried herbs rather than fresh to lower the cost of the evening. I don't think anyone missed the fresh herbs, because the tomatoes themselves were so incredibly flavorful.

12 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and cut in half lengthwise
3 Tbs. olive oil
2 Tbs. chopped fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano)
6 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. salt
24 (1/2-inch-thick) slices French bread baguette, toasted
24 fresh basil leaves

1. Preheat over to 250.
2. Arrange tomato halves in a single layer in a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with herbs, garlic, pepper, and salt. Bake at 250 for 4 hours. Place one dried tomato half on each toast round. Garnish each with 1 basil leaf.


Pretzel Goat Cheese Bites

Adam and his brother had a big tub of pretzels to snack on during their drive out west. We still have them. Needless to say, they are bit stale. Instead of throwing them away, I decided to try my hand at making them into breadcrumbs. I thought the idea of fried goat cheese would be fantastic as well, so we combined the two ideas into one. They tasted pretty good, but I don't think I'll be making these again any time soon. But, if you are looking for a new and innovative way to serve cheese, perhaps you want to try this recipe out.

5 pretzel rods, crushed
1 log of goat cheese, sliced into rounds
1 egg white, beaten
canola or vegetable oil

1. Dip the goat cheese rounds in the egg white and then the pretzel bits, making sure to fully cover the cheese.
2. Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Place the pretzel goat cheese rounds in the oil until crispy on both sides. Remove from oil and serve immediately.


Sweet Potato Ravioli with Lemon-Sage Brown Butter (Cooking Light, October 2007)

Here's a way to use the leftover wonton wrappers from the dumplings I made a few weeks ago! We served these ravioli over a bed of sauteed mixed greens. The flavors of the sauce, ravioli, and greens blended perfectly together. I highly recommend serving this dish that way.

1 (1-lbs.) sweet potato
2 Tbs. grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt, divided
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
24 wonton wrappers
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
6 quarts water
cooking spray
3 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. chopped fresh sage
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
sage sprigs (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Pierce potato several times with a fork; place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 40 minutes or until tender. Cool. Peel potato; mash. (I actually just steamed the potato by cutting it into chunks and microwaving in a covered dish with a bit of water. This is a much faster process.) Combine potato, cheese, 1/4 tsp. salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl.
3. Working with 1 wonton wrapper at a time (cover remaining wrappers with a damp towel to keep them from drying), spoon 1 Tbs. potato mixture into center of wrapper. Brush edges of dough with egg white; bring 2 opposite corners to center. Press edges together to seal, forming a triangle.
4. Bring 6 quarts water to a boil Add 8 ravioli; cook 2 minutes or until done. Remove ravioli from pan with a slotted spoon. Lightly coat cooked wontons with cooking spray; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining ravioli.
5. Melt butter in a small skillet over high heat. Add chopped sage to pan; cook 1 minute or until butter is lightly browned. Stir in 1/4 tsp. salt, juice, and pepper. Drizzle butter mixture over ravioli. Garnish with sage sprigs, if desired.


New York Cheesecake (Betty Crocker's Cookbook)

We made this decadent cheesecake and then drizzled caramel and hot fudge on top with chopped pecans to make a Turtle Cheesecake. The recipe calls for a flour crust, but we opted for a Vanilla Wafer cookie crust. We made this by pulsing the cookies in a food processor and mixing it with melted butter. Let me just say that this is the most heavenly delicious dessert I have had in a long time.

crust (of your choice)
5 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. grated orange peel, if desired
1 Tbs. grated lemon peel, if desired
1/4 tsp. salt
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/4 cup whipping cream

caramel
hot fudge
pecans, chopped

1. Make crust.
2. Heat oven to 475.
3. Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange peel, lemon peel, and salt in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in eggs, egg yolks, and 1/4 cup whipping cream on low speed until well blended. Pour into crust.
4. Bake 15 minutes.
5. Reduce oven temperature to 200. Bake 1 hour longer. Cheesecake may not appear to be done, but if a small area in the center seems soft, it will become firm as cheesecake cools. (Do not insert a knife to test for doneness because the hole could cause cheesecake to crack.) Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan away from drafts on wire rack 30 minutes.
6. Without releasing or removing side of pan, run metal spatula carefully along side of cheesecake to loosen. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours or until chilled; cover and continue refrigerating at least 9 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
7. Run metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen again. Remove side of pan; leave cheesecake on pan bottom to serve.
*8. Drizzle with caramel and hot fudge, and top with chopped pecans. Indulge!