Salsa Di Parmigiano (“Parm Dip”)

From the Nate Berkus Show
Makes 3 ½ Cups to Serve 16

Ingredients
½ pound Parmesan cheese, not too dry
½ pound Asiago cheese, not too dry
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 ½ cups extra virgin olive oil

Remove any rind from the cheeses and chop the cheeses into rough 1-inch chunks. Pulse the cheeses in a food processor until reduced to the size of a fine pea gravel. Transfer the cheese to a bowl and stir in the green onion and garlic. Add the oregano, rubbing between your fingers to release it’s fragrance. Add the black pepper, red pepper flakes, and olive oil. Stir well. Cover and let stand at room temperature at least 4 hours before serving.

Butternut Squash and Fontina Val d’Aosta Risotto

From the Nate Berkus Show
Serves 6 as a main course or 18 as an appetizer

Roasted Squash
2 cups 1-inch cubes butternut squash (from a 4-pound squash)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely shredded fresh sage, or 2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
Sea salt, preferably gray salt, and freshly ground black pepper

Risotto
About 6 cups squab stock, Roasted Chicken Stock, Mushroom Stock, or Vegetable Stock
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 cups Arborio rice
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon finely shredded fresh sage
3 cups shredded fontina cheese (not packed)
About 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 tablespoons minced fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

For the squash: Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Put the squash chunks into a large bowl.

Heat a large sauté pan or skillet over medium-high heat and melt the butter until it foams and begins to brown. Add the sage (or the garlic, one or the other but not both), followed by the vinegar and brown sugar. Stand back, as the mixture may spatter. Season with salt and pepper and simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to meld the flavors, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over the squash and toss well.

Arrange the squash on the prepared pan, cover with aluminum foil, and bake until very tender and caramelized, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and increase the oven temperature to 425ºF for 5 minutes to caramelize the squash further. Remove from the oven and baste the squash with the liquid in the pan. Let cool briefly, then puree in a food processor until creamy. For the risotto: In a medium saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and keep it at the barest simmer while you make the risotto.

For the risotto: Heat a large sauté pan or heavy medium saucepan over medium heat, add the olive oil, and cook the onion until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the rice and the minced garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is pearly white with a translucent outer layer. Add the wine and cook, stirring, until very little liquid is left in the pan. Ladle in 1 cup of the hot stock. Reduce the heat to medium-low, keep the rice at a gentle simmer, while stirring frequently, until almost all the liquid is gone. Ladle in 1/2 cup of the hot stock and repeat, ladling in 1/2 cup of stock each time most of the liquid has been absorbed. All together, counting from the first cup of stock, you’ll stir and cook for about 18 to 25 minutes. Taste the rice to decide when it’s done: it should be creamy, firm in the center but without any hint of crunch. Stir in the butternut mixture, remove from the heat, and stir in the shredded sage and the fontina.

To serve: Divide the risotto among shallow bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and parsley.

Orange Yogurt Pancakes

from Recipes Rock

1 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. orange juice
orange gratings (optional)
3/4 c. plain yogurt
1 egg
6 Tbsp. butter, melted, divided

In a medium bowl, stir together dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together juice, gratings, yogurt, egg, and 4 Tbsp. of the melted butter. Stir into the flour mixture until just combined (batter will be quite thick).

Heat a griddle or large skillet over medium high heat until quite hot. Brush pan with some of the remaining melted butter and spread batter with a spoon onto pan in 3-inch pancakes. When pancakes bubble and are browned, flip and continue cooking until cooked through and browned on the second side. Brush pan with melted butter before each batch. Serve warm with maple syrup.

Crispy Cucumbers and Tomatoes in Dill Dressing

from All Recipes

Ingredients:
1/4 c. cider vinegar
1 tsp. white sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh dill weed (or dry dill weed)
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
2 Tbsps. vegetable oil
2 cucumbers, sliced
1 c. sliced red onion (I usually omit this)
2 ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar, salt, dill, pepper and oil. Add cucumbers, onion and tomatoes. Toss and let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Raspberry Lemonade

from Our Family Treat

Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons)
1/2 cup sugar syrup
6 splashes of club soda
1 cup frozen raspberries
lemon slices for garnish

Sugar Syrup:
2 cups water
4 cups sugar

In saucepan bring sugar and water to boil. Boil for about 2-3 minutes until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, and let cool. Syrup will last approximately 3 weeks.

In large pitcher combine lemon juice, sugar syrup and 1 quart of cold water. Mix well. Chill for an hour. Right before serving, add raspberries, lemon slices and club soda. Feel free to garnish each glass with a little more lemon and raspberries.

Grilled Fish Tacos + Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette + Pico de Gallo

from Our Best Bites

Grilled Fish Tacos
For fish tacos, just marinate any kind of mild white fish (like cod, tilapia, red snapper, or mahi mahi) for about 20 minutes and then lightly brush a grill with oil and cook over medium heat for 8-12 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) until the fish flakes easily. Flake the fish and season with Kosher salt and a little extra dressing if you like. Serve the flaked fish in either homemade flour tortillas or corn tortillas. You'll need to slightly cook the corn tortillas so they don't overwhelm the flavor of the fish; you can brush them with olive oil and bake them in an oven set to 425 for about 5-10 minutes, cook them in a skillet with some olive oil until they start to brown but are still flexible or run them under some water and then cook in a hot cast iron skillet. Serve with pico de gallo, mango pico de gallo, cabbage, guacamole, or lime wedges. 

Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

1/4 c. fresh lime juice (about 2-3 juicy limes)

1/4 c. white wine vinegar or rice vinegar

4-5 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp. Kosher or sea salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 c. canola oil
1/2 c. roughly chopped cilantro, stems removed

In the jar of your blender, combine lime juice, vinegar, garlic, salt, and sugar. Blend until ingredients are completely combined. With the blender running, add the oil in a steady stream. Add cilantro and blend until the cilantro has broken down but still maintains some of its texture. Serve with greens, on any type of Mexican salad, or use as a marinade.

Pico de Gallo

Ingredients:

About 3 Roma tomatoes

1 smallish jalapeno pepper

1/2 small onion (white onions are traditional, but I love the color and flavor of red onions)

THESE MEASUREMENTS ARE APPROXIMATE:

Freshly squeezed lime juice (use 1/2 lime for a little zing, use the whole thing for distinct lime flavor. In case you were wondering, I use the whole thing)

A very generous pinch of chopped cilantro--I just grab some using all my fingers at once. It probably comes out to about 1/4 c.

Kosher salt to taste; some people leave it on the bland side because a lot of foods pico de gallo is served with tends to be salty. Personally, I like it on the salty side.

Cut ends off tomatoes and then slice in half lengthwise. Under running water, gently run your finger under the membrane that contains the seeds. It's okay if some seeds get in there, but if you have all of them, it's going to get a little sloppy. Cut into small chunks. If you look at my pictures, I actually cut my tomatoes a little bigger than I really wanted them. I'm learning to let the little things go...Place in a small serving or mixing bowl or a really large cereal-type bowl.

Finely dice the onion. No one wants giant chunks of raw onion. Well, maybe some people out there do, but I don't know any of them personally. Toss with the tomato mixture.

Finely chop the jalapeno, removing the seeds if desired (the seeds contain the majority of the heat, although the flesh is still pretty hot). I'm a pansy and absolutely don't ever add seeds, but some of you are way braver than me, so this is totally up to you. Toss with the tomatoes and onions.

Add the fresh-squeezed juice of 1/2 of the lime. Taste. If you want to walk on the limey side, add a little more. I like to go easy on the heat and heavy on the lime, but I'm sure there are others out there who are the opposite.

Add your giant pinch of cilantro. Combine well. Add a generous sprinkling of Kosher salt, taste, and add more if desired. This is best if it stands for a few hours before you serve it, but it also may (okay, will) get a little wet in the bottom of the bowl, so you might want to strain it before serving it. It's great just straight up on tortilla chips or alongside our Chili-Lime Steak Salad, Chicken Taquitos, Chipotle Taquitos, or fill some warm homemade flour tortillaswith Taco Chicken, Queso Fresco (you can usually find it near the cream cheese section of the grocery store), shredded cabbage, and top with a little pico de gallo.

Ooey-GooeyPeanut Butter-Chocolate Brownies

from Our Best Bites


3/4 C sweetened condensed milk, divided (fat-free is fine)
1/4 C butter, melted and cooled (1/2 stick)

1/4 C non-fat milk
1  box devil’s food cake mix (18.25 oz)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
cooking spray
1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme (about 1 3/4 C)
1/2 C peanut butter morsels (not gonna lie, I used a very “heaping” 1/2 cup :)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With an electric mixer, combine 1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk, milk, butter, cake mix, and egg white.  Mixture will be very thick.  Spray 9×13 pan with cooking spray.  Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of the pan.  Use either floured hands, or spray your hands with cooking spray in order to press it down without having it stick to your fingers.  The layer will be thin.  Bake for 10 minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk and marshmallow creme in a bowl and combine until smooth.  Stir in PB morsels.  No one will tell if you stir in some extras.  Spread marshmallow layer over brownie layer in pan.  Carefully drop remaining brownie batter by spoonfuls over marshmallow mixture.  Bake at 350 for 20-30 minutes.  (The original recipe calls for 30 minutes, but many readers have noted that 20 minutes was perfect, and I usually only bake for about 20-25).  Remove from oven and cool before cutting into squares.