My kids are out of school for the holiday break so I will be taking the time off too. I am excited to spend quality time with them and hope to do some skiing, sledding, and ice skating as well as cook some old favorite recipes, spend time with family and friends, and enjoy the holiday season. Here is a round up of a few of my favorite recipes.
I want to wish everyone a happy holiday season from my family to yours.
Buttermilk Blueberry Breakfast Cake
Cinnamon Baked French Toast
Roasted Vegetable and Swiss Cheese Baked Frittata
Banana and Blueberry Pancakes with Cinnamon Vanilla Butter
Tomato Stack Salad with Corn, Bacon, and Avocado
Caramelized Onion and Swiss Cheese Twice Baked Potatoes
Garlicky Green Beans
Grilled Vegetable and Smoked Fontina Pizza
Garlic Crusted Roast Beef
Chicken Cordon Bleu
Pork Medallions Smothered in Mushroom Shallot Gravy
I found a recipe on Simply Scratch[1] that looked beautiful and delicious. I had some extra vinaigrette[2] leftover so I decided to use that and skip the recipe’s vinaigrette. I grilled the veggies in my grill pan and it was quick and easy. I cooked some of the veggies separately so they would get really nice grill marks. I loved the flavor of the grilled veggies with the crisp bread tossed in the vinaigrette. It was hearty, healthy, and a nice change from the salads and side dishes I usually serve.
Make Fran’s Vinaigrette[3] – recipe found here[4]. Set aside to let the flavors mingle.
Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Coat the sliced rustic bread with olive oil cooking spray then place into the grill pan and cook until toasted on both sides for 5 minutes. Remove and cube into bite sized pieces.
Add the olive oil to the grill pan then place the mushrooms into the pan. Let them sit, leaving them alone, for 3-4 minutes then flip them over for another 2 minutes, or until golden. Pour into a large bowl. Add the asparagus and onion to the grill pan, adding cooking spray if needed. Cook, stirring often for 3-4 minutes, or until fork tender; pour into the bowl with the mushrooms. Add the zucchini chunks and tomato quarters to the grill pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Gently place them into the bowl. Add the cubed bread pieces to the bowl.
Season the veggies and bread with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste then toss to coat. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette on top then toss to coat evenly. Taste & re-season or add more vinaigrette if needed. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
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Grilled Vegetable Panzanella
Yield:6
Prep Time:10 min.
Cook Time:15 min.
Total Time:25 min.
Ingredients:
4 thick slices of leftover rustic French bread, grilled then cubed into bite sized pieces 1 tbsp olive oil 8 Crimini Mushrooms, quartered 1/4 sweet yellow onion, cut into chunks 6 stalks of asparagus, wooden ends removed & cut into thrids 1 medium Zucchini, cut into chunks 3 small firm tomatoes, quartered Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Directions:
Make Fran’s Vinaigrette – click the link up above for the recipe. Set aside to allow the flavors to mingle.
Heat a grill pan coated with cooking spray over medium high heat. Coat the sliced rustic bread with olive oil cooking spray then place into the grill pan and cook until toasted on both sides for 5 minutes. Remove and cube into bite sized pieces.
Add the olive oil to the grill pan then place the mushrooms into the pan. Let them sit, leaving them alone, for 3-4 minutes then flip them over for another 2 minutes, or until golden. Pour into a large bowl. Add the asparagus and onion to the grill pan, adding cooking spray if needed. Cook, stirring often for 3-4 minutes, or until fork tender; pour into the bowl with the mushrooms. Add the zucchini chunks and tomato quarters to the grill pan. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until tender. Gently place them into the bowl. Add the cubed bread pieces to the bowl.
Season the veggies and bread with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste then toss to coat. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette on top then toss to coat evenly. Taste & re-season or add more vinaigrette if needed. Serve immediately. Enjoy.
Adapted recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net Original recipe by Simply Scratch
Before being included in the eighteenth century in Linnaeus’ classifications as Cucumis sativumthe cucumber, defined by Lorenzo the Magnificent as «aperitif and healthy, is cited with the name of «cedriuolo (from citrusdue to its slightly acidic taste) by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, the famous botanist of the sixteenth century, who, being also a doctor, saw it as a purifying agent, anti-inflammatory And diuretic (today we know that it contains iron, calcium, phosphorus and vitamins B and C) and understood its benefits also «for external use, to refresh the skin and reduce wrinkles, redness and puffiness (such as: bags under the eyes!). It is not for nothing that it is a main component in many lines of beauty products.
From a nutritional point of view, beyond the most common uses – preserved, like the classic and always welcome pickled gherkin, or in Greek tzatziki – it is an essential component of fast food sandwiches, and with a good scientific basis: the cucumbercombined with wholemeal bread, thanks to the tartaric acid it contains, it moderates the absorption of carbohydrates which often turn into fat. And then, very low in calories but rich in fibre and water, and therefore very filling, it is the king of summer diets.
(Historical research by Marina Migliavacca and Valeria Nava)
Know the ingredient: Cucumber varieties
Cucumbers belong to the family of Cucurbitaceaesuch as pumpkin, courgette, melon and watermelon. They have in common the fact that they grow on an annual, creeping herbaceous plant, covered in hair and equipped with tendrils, those curls that serve to firmly anchor themselves to supports or to the ground. All fruits are called peponids and contain a large quantity of seeds in the central part. Also suitable for growing in pots, as long as they have good exposure to the sun and without stagnant water, they grow well at a temperature between 15 and 25 °C. Let’s get to know the types of cucumber now.
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A typical variety of Puglia, which the region itself, in collaboration with the University of Bari, has chosen to protect through projects for the promotion of horticultural agro-biodiversity. It is distinguished from other cucumbers by its more rounded shape and its striped rind, sometimes similar to that of watermelon. It is very sweet and more digestible than other varieties because, like the Barattiere (n. 5), it belongs to the species Cucumis melo (that of melon) and is free of the molecule that makes cucumbers difficult to digest.
Minute
As the name suggests, this variety of cucumber is small in size, contains few seeds and is very crunchy.
Telegraph
Even more than 30 cm long, it is completely devoid of thorns on the skin but may present some small protuberance (tubercle). With a very delicate flavor, it is easily digestible. Choose those that do not exceed 3 cm in diameter: they are particularly sweet.
Snack
Small in size, to be nibbled even as a snack, as the name suggests. It does not peel.
Barrater
Another variety from Puglia, also known as Tondo di Fasano. It is not really a cucumber because it is of the same species as melon, of which it also has the shape. Buy those no bigger than a baseball. Crisp and very fresh, it is perfect for adding a twist to a mixed fruit salad.
Marketer
The most classic of cucumbers. Like all varieties, it has refreshing and purifying properties. It is rich in vitamin C and mineral salts and low in calories. It is also used in cosmetics for its ability to soften the skin.
Kiwano
Its scientific name is Cucumis metuliferus. It comes from the African continent and has been known for centuries. The plant has the same characteristics as the others, that is, it is a climber with yellow flowers and hairy leaves; the fruit instead has a leathery rind, orange in color when it is at the right stage of ripeness, provided with pointed protuberances, for this reason it is also called horned melon. The pulp inside is composed only of seeds covered in mucilage, the effect is similar to that of the passion fruit. The flavor is particular: a cross between that of cucumber and that of lemon with hints of banana.
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